Unfortunate Circumstances
by Alice D. Lovett
Summary: AU. After a worse-than-usual morning with his father Oz, literally, runs into Gilbert, one of his classmates, and asks him not to say anything about his injuries. OzxGil so obviously yaoi and a bit of one sided JackxAlice. Abuse. OOCish. By the way I DON'T OWN PANDORA HEARTS.
1. Chapter 1

**Alice: Not so sure about the title but it'll do. Anyway hope you like it. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pandora Hearts**_

Oz stumbled down the sidewalk trying to get as far from his house as possible. Maybe he'd even walk to school today although with the condition he was in he'd definitely cause a commotion. One hand was clamped over his left cheek in a halfhearted attempt at staunching the blood which was freely seeping out between his fingers and the other was pressed to his stomach as he tried to force back his nausea. Even with his high pain tolerance it was a bit much since his father, Zai, had been in an extremely bad mood this morning. And if his goal had been hurting Oz as much as possible with what was at hand, which the boy was sure it was, he had succeeded. Passed with flying colors even since Oz had never expected his father to smash a vase against his head and, while forcing him to pick up the shattered pieces that _hadn't_ lodged themselves in his cheek, stab him in the back of his thigh. It was with a _butter knife_ too of all things. Usually something-er-sharper was used and because the blade was so blunt it hurt even worse. Of course Oz wasn't one to complain, though he supposed he probably had enough reasons to. The fact was that this was his home life when his father bothered to be around and he didn't see the point in-

"Oh, oh ow. Okay, that hurt," The boy who had crashed into Oz sending them both to the ground muttered. He repositioned himself and sat up so he was straddling the blond and pressed to palm of his hand to his forehead. Oz on the other hand was having a hard time not letting loose every swear word he knew as blinding pain shot through the knife wound. His hands were at his sides, his fingernails digging into the sidewalk and he watched the black haired boy as he opened his golden-

"_Shit_!" Oz exclaimed. He knew those eyes! Not personally but he sure as hell wasn't going to forget a pair like that, especially since he saw them all the time at school!

"Oz?" The dark haired boy tilted his head to the side, his eyes widening in alarm when he noticed how bloody, and still bleeding, the blond was. "Holy-What happened!" Oz cringed. Of course the boy had to recognize him. He even knew his name which, honestly, made Oz feel bad for never bothering to learn his. He _had_ been meaning to ask but just…hadn't got around to it. There was never a opportunity to since the boy was always with a girl that liked to whack people with her fan and a creepy guy with white hair. And now they had to meet when Oz was a bloody mess. (No pun intended.)

"What do you mean 'what happened'? You ran into me."

"That's not what I'm talking about. You look awful!"

"Thanks. That's exactly what I wanted to hear." The boy flushed, instantly becoming flustered.

"I-I didn't mean it that way. Usually you're very-not that you're not now-I just-Well-Do you need to go to the hospital!" By the time he finished his eyes were squeezed shut and his face was beet red. Oz reached up and caressed the boy's cheek, suppressing a smile. It would only make the wound on his cheek hurt and bleed worse and he didn't want to give the poor boy a heart attack.

"You're really cute you know that?" The boy's eyes shot opened and widened as his cheeks became hotter and he processed what Oz had said. It was then that he noticed the position they were in and he quickly pushed himself off of the blond, reaching down a hand to help him up after he was standing.

"A-anyway I think you should go to the hospital. Do you…want me to go with you?" Oz placed a hand back over his cheek and shook his head.

"I'm fine enough to get there by myself. Oh, and when you get to school would you mind not telling anyone about this?"

"Yeah, sure. I won't tell. So I, uh, guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

XXXXXX

"Gil? Gil!" He felt something whack the back of his head and spun around in his chair to glare at Sharon and he fan/weapon.

"What was that for?" he asked, rubbing the spot she'd hit.

"It was to get your attention since, for whatever reason, you've decided to stop responding to your name," Sharon said slowly, letting every ounce of her poise and elegance seep into her words as she daintily set the fan onto her desk. If you didn't know her you'd never guess how violent she could be.

"Sorry I was-"

"In your own world?" Gil, you shouldn't be zoning out in class. You're lucky the teacher didn't call on you." Sharon crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair somehow maintaining her prefect posture. Break materialized behind her placing his hands, that _must_ have been hiding somewhere in his overly long sleeves, on her shoulders.

"Tsk tsk, dear Gilbert. First you arrive to class late and then you don't bother to pay attention! That's _quite_ unlike you," Break said. Sharon glanced up at him and adjusted his bangs so they completely covered his left eye. "Would you care to explain yourself?"

"I just got held up this morning. It was nothing special," Gil muttered, avoiding eye contact.

"Hmmm. So you say."

"Er…It's break time then?" Gil asked attempting to change the subject. This was one of the few classes with a teacher that allowed breaks and the fact that it was math made Oscar everyone's favorite teacher. Sharon nodded.

"We were waiting for you but I got a bit impatient," she said. Gil laughed.

"Yeah, just a _bit_," he said teasing her. Her eyes narrowed and one of her hands twitched toward the fan. Gil stood and took a few steps back to avoid the impending whack and bumped into someone. He heard the crash and flutter of books and papers falling to the ground and, ignoring Break who was obviously laughing at him, he turned around to apologize.

_What's wrong with me today?_ Gil thought, irritated with himself. _First Oz and now-_He paused when he saw the fuming boy behind him. It was…Oz?

"You're helping me pick this up," the aggravated blond said, pointing at his scattered belongings. One of his earrings glinted drawing Gil's atten-Wait. Not Oz. Oz didn't wear earrings, this was-

"Yeash Jack, what happened?" a brunette Gil recognized as Alice asked.

"_He_ happened," Jack said, gesturing towards Gil.

"I-I'm sorry. I should have been watching where I was going," Gil mumbled.

"It's fine as long as you help me pick it up." Jack knelt on the ground, tugging Gil down with him. "Hey, Alice have you seen my brother around today?" He scooped up a pile of papers and straightened them. Gil grabbed a few books, listening intently. Oz had told him not to tell anyone but did that include his twin too? Alice laughed.

"Are you kidding me? You're the one who lives with him," she said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah but you know I drop Ada off at school so I leave before he even wakes up. Our dad says that he's a bad influence on her and…" He trailed off and glanced at Gil as if he suddenly remembered that the boy was still there. "Uh, thanks." Jack took the pile of books form Gil's hands. "You can go now. I've got the rest."

"Oh, okay," Gil said as he stood. It was obvious that Jack was worried about his brother and this only made Gil more concerned for Oz. The blond skipping classes wasn't anything new so Jack must suspect that Oz was hurt otherwise he'd have no need to worry. As Gil walked back toward Sharon and Break he wondered, horrified by the very thought, if Oz being hurt was a common occurrence.

**Alice: Aaaaand I'll end it here. So what did you think? Was it good? Bad? Reviews are **_**always**_** appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Alice: First, sorry if Oz and Jack are really out of character. Secondly this chapter turned into background on Oz's situation so no Gil! Once again sorry! Oz will go back to school in the next chapter though and you can look forward to them interacting then! ;)**

**DISCLAIMER: **_**Pandora Hearts**_** does not, nor will it ever, belong to me.**

Oz sighed as he unlocked the door, letting himself into the mansion sized house as quietly as possible. His father's 'special' (as in I won't mention any of this to the police or Child Protective Services) doctor had assured him that his wounds 'weren't that bad' and they would 'heal quickly' but with twelve stitches for his leg and twenty-five for his face Oz begged to differ. His face would definitely have a scar, its first since Zai usually wounded less noticeable places. Somehow Oz doubted that he'd care or worry though; if anything his father would most likely be happy to have something to complain about that wouldn't also insult his 'good' son. And Jack was good; Oz couldn't and wouldn't deny that. He'd spend time with Oz when their dad was away on business and if their father stayed at the house for a significant amount of time he'd find ways visit Oz in secret. Occasionally Jack was even able to bring their seven-year-old sister, Ada, with him. Since she was so young Zai was able to force her to live in a separate house with her nanny, Mrs. Kate, because he didn't want her to be 'contaminated by Oz'. If he'd had his way Jack would be living with Mrs. Kate too but Oz's twin had refused to leave his brother all alone. Because of this they both lived in their house alone with the exception of Oscar, their math teacher and caretaker (Zai had offered him a lot of money to watch after his sons while he was away and let him live in the mansion).

Oz crept to his room, shut the door, and flopped down on his bed. He closed his eyes and strained his ears, listening for any sounds that could indicate his father still being in the house. After what felt like an hour of complete, ear-ringing silence Oz sat up and made his way to the full length mirror hanging on his closet door. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at the wound. Yup. There was no hiding that with anything as inconspicuous as concealer. He actually felt a bit nauseous staring at it and quickly turned to his dresser, opening the top drawer, (which was filled with nothing but band-aids and gauze) and pulling out a large rectangle bandage.

He stuck it over his wound and sighed. It covered his whole cheek so people would definitely notice and he was positive that he'd be asked about it all day. Then there was the boy with golden eyes (how had he forgotten to get his name this morning!). Telling everyone else that it was just a scratch would be easy but that boyknew the severity of the wound and Oz was willing to bet that there was no way he'd forget by tomorrow or let the subject drop. As he contemplated what exactly he'd tell the boy Oz heard the door open.

"Oz! I'm home," Jack called as he walked into the house. Without waiting for a response he ran to his brother's room and barged in knowing that knocking wouldn't be necessary because a) Oz never minded and b) their father had gotten rid of the lock. He spotted his brother standing near the closet and smiled. "Thank goodness. You are here. Ditching school wasn't for nothing!" Oz frowned and his brother noticed the bandage on his cheek. Jack's good mood instantly vanished. "Your face? Well that's a new one. He must've been really pissed although I think Alice might be able to rival that when she finds out that her boyfriend's perfect face has been marred."He was trying to lighten the mood but even he had to admit that he'd failed. Jack crossed the room, dropping his book bag on Oz's bed, and grabbed his brother's chin preparing to rip the band-aid off.

"Stop!" Oz said, swatting his hand away. "I _just_ put that on."

"And I was _just_ taking it off." Jack sighed and patted his younger (by ten minutes but that was still younger) brother on the head. "Can you blame me? I want to see the damage."

"And I want you to go back to school." Jack laughed and crossed his arms.

"That's rich coming from you. Even when you're not injured you skip school."

"Then you worry about me all day." Oz pressed a hand to his chest and gave a fake sniffle. "Yeah, I heard this last time and the time before that and the time before-"

"Okay, okay! So I say it a lot but it's true."

"If you worry about me so much you should go back to school before they miss you. If Zai finds out that you skipped he'll blame me…and technically he'd be right." Oz blinked at his older brother innocently, knowing full well that the threat/fact would win him the argument. And, as he expected, Jack huffed in irritation.

"That was below the belt," he grumbled.

"Yet completely true! Now," Oz dragged Jack to his bed and shoved his book bag into his hands then turned him around so he faced the door, "you have somewhere to be." Oz pushed Jack out of his room but before he could shut the door his brother was facing him again with a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you going to be alright?" Jack asked. The severity of his gaze made Oz a bit uncomfortable but he laughed it off and nodded.

"Of course! First of all Zai wouldn't be so careless; he doesn't need a dead body on his hands-"

"Oz! Don't talk about yourself that way!"

"-and secondly," Oz continued as if he hadn't been interrupted, "the doctor said that all I need is rest and time to heal."

"…That's good I guess. But it's not exactly what I was asking. You do know that people care about you right? Not everyone thinks you're evil or possessed by a demon." Oz cringed at the reminder. If only he hadn't died at birth. No, even better, if only the doctors hadn't bothered with saving him and saved his mother instead. Everything would be much happier than it was now.

Jack narrowed his eyes, instinctively knowing what Oz was thinking. He raised a hand and slapped Oz across the face. Since talking never worked, lately Jack had been trying to knock some sense into him. He never hit him hard. Just enough to let him know that he was wrong. Oz smiled and placed a hand on his now stinging, uninjured cheek.

"What was that for?" Oz asked, already knowing what his brother would say.

"Thinking the world would be better off without you. So what if one person doesn't want you? What about Alice and Ada and Oscar and _me_. I thought for sure that we mattered more than Zai. He's completely insane to hate you." Oz's smile slipped a little as his thoughts flashed to the golden-eyed boy. Would _he_ care if Oz disappeared one day?

"…Well, Jack, I'll see you when you get home from school!"Oz flashed his brother one last smile and shut the door in his face. "I promise not to commit suicide while you're gone!"

"Jackass!" he screamed, a flash of vertigo going over him at the thought. "Don't put pictures like that in my head!" He stomped out of the house, slamming the door behind him then set off in the direction of the school, lightly tugging on one of his earrings.

_Idiot_, Jack thought. _How can you not know how important you are?_ Given the chance he would do anything to be his brother in spite the beatings. Anything to at least once have Alice look at him the way she looked at Oz. Anything to easily gain the love of everyone he met even if Zai despised him. And his stupid younger brother didn't realize how lucky he was. To make it worse Jack couldn't hate him for it no matter how hard he tried (and he _had_ tried) because just like everyone else he couldn't help but love his brother.

**Alice: I apologize if the writing was crappy (I prefer to write from Gil's point of view). And, geez, I keep apologizing to you! XD Anyway please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alice: Ugh, stupid f-ing emotions. They've got me crying over something that isn't worth the tears. Since I'm sort of a pushover my younger sisters are constantly bullying me. :P FML. On the bright side chapter 2 was apparently better than I thought it was. I'm pleasantly surprised! :)**

As soon as Gilbert entered Oscar's class he scanned the room for Oz. Unfortunately there was no sign of the blond and he slunk to his seat disappointed. Break, as was his specialty, manifested behind Gil with Sharon at his side.

"Oh, why so glum?" Break asked, draping himself over Gil. "You're depressing my poor Emily." He patted his puppet on her head and Gil shoved him away. Break narrowed his eyes and pouted. "Humph! No need to be rude."

"He's right," Sharon said, settling herself in her seat behind Gil. "Something about you does seem depressing today and yesterday you were off as well." Gilbert blushed and stared down at his desk. Class could start _any_ second now…Really, the sooner the better.

"I wanted to talk to somebody but they aren't here so-" Gil began but he was quickly cut off by Break who threw an arm around his shoulders, a large grin spread over his face.

"What was that? You wanted to talk to someone? Why that sounds _sooo_ important! Could young, _sweet_ Gilbert have possibly wanted to ask this person on a date?" Break teased. He watched pleased as his words took effect, turning the boy beet red and making him stutter.

"Wha-wha-wha-" Gil's face flamed as he recalled Oz caressing his cheek and calling him cute. "I-it's nothing like that!" Sharon shook her head although she was hardly suppressing a smile of her own. Break on the other hand was laughing loudly at Gil's embarrassment, drawing every eye in the class toward him.

"Break you're causing a scene," Sharon said, reaching for her fan. Break released Gilbert and retreated to his seat on the right of Sharon.

"See the trouble you've gotten us into Emily?" Break moaned to his puppet. "All because you _had_ to tease little Gilbert about his obvious crush." Gil glared at Break mentally willing him to shut up. He was speaking so loudly the whole class could hear him. Break gave a mock sniffle. "The poor boy. He's head over heels." Gil directed his pleading eyes at Sharon as she was the only person who could actually do something about Break. She smiled and leaned closer to Gilbert.

"I'm curious. Who did you fall for?" Sharon asked to Gil's utter horror.

"Not you t-" Gilbert began.

He was cut off by Oscar who came into the room with a loud, "Goood morning class!" He sat down behind his desk on the rolling chair he could usually be caught spinning in. "Who are we missing today?" He glanced around the room his eyes pausing on Oz's empty desk and humphed in annoyance. "Just as I thought," Oscar muttered under his breath. "There's no way Oz only had a scratch. He wouldn't let me anywhere near that bandage and I swear I caught him limping."

Oscar stood and walked toward the board beginning the lesson even though his thoughts stayed on Oz. This wasn't the first time since he'd begun living with the twins that he suspected that Zai was abusing Oz. The injuries only happened when their father was staying at the house so it was impossible not to come to that conclusion. Oscar would've called Child Protective Services had he not thought Zai had or could pay them off. Besides he doubted either Oz or his brother would give their father away so for now things had to be left as they were whether Oscar like it or not.

A few minutes after the lesson had ended and break had started the door swung open revealing a slightly irritated Oz. Oscar raised an eyebrow surprised and, even though he was here, still convinced that Oz was too hurt to be at school.

"Sorry I'm late. My history teacher was convinced that I must be cheating because even though I skip her class so often I still get all A's," Oz said walking to his seat. "Anyway I missed the lesson didn't I?"

"Yes you did," Oscar replied. He didn't miss Oz's _yes!_ smile and couldn't resist knocking the blond's happiness at having missed the learning portion of the class down a few pegs. "Don't worry though, I can reteach it to you later." Oz groaned but didn't have time to mourn his now math filled afternoon because Alice attached herself to his arm. Usually he would be fine with being taught whatever lesson he'd skipped or couldn't help missing but he had wanted to spend all afternoon with-Alice gasped drawing his attention to her.

"Oz what happened to your face!" Alice exclaimed. She reached for the bandage-why the hell did everybody want to take it off!-but he moved his face away, flashing her his most charming smile. One should always be nice to one's girlfriend no matter how bad of a mood they're in and how bothersome said girlfriend's being.

"Oh, this?" Oz pointed to the bandage and Alice rolled her eyes.

"No I meant the _other_ bandage that's taking up half of your face." Oz's brother laughed walking up behind him and patting him on the back.

"She's got a point," Jack said, stepping closer to Alice and wrapping an arm around her waist. She immediately pushed it away and he sighed. "Come on. Don't be so mean." Alice stuck her tongue out at him and Jack returned the favor.

"Quit being so-Anyway Oz what-" Alice said, turning back to speak with Oz but he had spotted who he was looking for and was already halfway across the room. Alice stomped one of her feet in annoyance. "Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!" If Jack hadn't been holding her back Oz would've been on the floor with one of her feet pressing painfully into his chest.

Gil glanced up from his argument with Break and, er, Emily about whether or not he was in love with someone in the class (because 'they' had had to bring it up again) when he felt somebody tap him on his shoulder. As soon as he realized it was Oz standing next to him he nearly fell out of the chair.

"O-O-Oz! Y-you did come to school today," Gil stuttered, peeking the interest of both Sharon and Break.

"Mmm?" Break said, glancing between Gil and Oz. "Dear Gilbert could this possibly be the-"

"Shut up!" Gil exclaimed. He lunged out of his desk and was half kneeling, half laying on Break with a hand pressed over the other boy's mouth. Sharon scrutinized Oz, looking him up and down and he smiled at her brushing a hand through his hair. She blushed and, for once, used the fan for what it was made for.

"Gil you have good taste. I'm jealous," Sharon said. Gilbert wanted nothing more at that moment than to disappear.

"You shut up too!" The raven exclaimed, not considering the premature death those words could cause. He was promptly beaten upside the head more times and much harder than necessary, at least in his opinion.

Oz stood watching the spectacle unsure whether to laugh or be concerned for the boy's safety. When Sharon finally returned to her seat and set her fan down Oz helped the boy up.

"So…your name's Gilbert?" Oz asked, sitting beside Gil on his chair and placing an arm around his waist to keep himself from falling off.

"Y-y-yes," Gil stuttered, "b-but everyone just calls me Gil." His face was on fire, he could _feel_ Break and Sharon's stares, and he _refused_ to think of what they'd been saying about him being in love with Oz. He wasn't, absolutely not! They had just met and Oz was dating Alice and-Holy shit! Had the blond ever heard of personal space!

Oz leaned forward until his face was centimeters from Gil's and he blew lightly. When he pulled back Oz was smiling triumphantly. What. The. Hell? Gil seriously thought that he might faint. His heart was beating a thousand miles a minute and so much blood had rushed to his face that he felt dizzy. He could hear Break booing at the lack of action and Sharon's sigh of disappointment (he really needed new friends) but was too shocked and confused to glare at them.

"There was an eyelash," Oz said. He paused and tilted his head slightly. Gil's expression was sort of…strange. "You don't mind that I got rid of it do you? I do it all the time for my brother and sister." Oz laughed sheepishly. "I tried it once with Alice but she punched me for getting too close to her." The blond's eye's widened as he realized that Gil might have personal space issues too. "Damn! I didn't make you uncomfortable did I?"

"N-no, I'm fine. You were-I didn't mind." The blond nodded pleased with the answer.

"Well, since I didn't scare you away how about a date?" And Gil's mind went completely blank. He opened and closed his mouth a few times but nothing came out. "I just thought you'd want some sort of explanation. You know for yesterday. So meet me in the parking lot after school. I'll be waiting for you."

_Right. Of course that's all he wants_, Gil thought, sinking into his seat. Oz stood releasing the boy and walking back to his brother and Alice. _His _girlfriend_ Alice,_ Gil added mentally.

"Explanation?" Sharon asked. Gil turned to her and her curiosity instantly became sympathy. She laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, trying her best to comfort him. "You are much better than Alice. I'm sure he'll see that soon as well. He just has to get to know you." Break nodded placing a hand on Gil's other shoulder.

"I'm sure he will too. That's why I made a bet with Emily," Break said tightening his grip. Why Break had made a bet with his puppet Gilbert was kind of glad he'd never understand but he did know that if Break lost he'd be in for at least two weeks of worse than usual torture. Gil shuddered at the thought. The usual torture was cruel enough; he didn't want to deal with a pissed off Break.

_Stupid Sharon and Break,_ Gilbert thought laying his head down on his desk. _I can't like Oz that way. I only ran into him when he was severely injured and want an explanation. That's all!_ Even so Gil could hardly wait for the day to end.

**Alice: Review! ^_^**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alice: I'm not very far in the anime or manga so I haven't seen much of Vincent but he seemed kinda creepy and obsessedish with Gil. So he might be OOC and probably a little too mature for a seven-year-old.**

**DISCLAIMER X2 BECAUSE I FORGOT TO PUT ONE IN THE LAST CHAPTER: I don't own **_**Pandora Hearts.**_

School had finally ended and Gilbert wasted no time running out of the building and to the parking lot: he barely spent a minute at his locker, quickly shoving everything he needed into his book bag and only giving a curt 'bye' to Sharon and Break whose lockers happened to be right next to his. He didn't even allow himself to be annoyed at their knowing smiles as he raced away. It wasn't like they really knew anything anyway. As soon as Gil exited the building he spotted Oz leaning against a car and talking to Oscar.

"My tutoring can be pushed to tomorrow then? 'Cause I was planning on staying out late with him," Oz said. He had briefly explained his date with Gil to Oscar and was crossing his fingers for the older man to say it was okay.

"Are you kidding me!?" Oscar exclaimed. "You're going to spend time with someone that _isn't_ Alice or Jack? You aren't making this up so you can go out and buy drugs or anything like that?" Oz rolled his eyes.

"I don't get any trust? And for your information I've never done drugs in my life. I mean aside from the stuff the doc-um, anyway as long as you don't tell Zai that I'm out he'll think I'm in my room. If you can do that it should be fine." Oscar sighed.

"I'll lie for you but only because you don't have any close friends aside from your brother and Alice. If you finally found someone you're willing to spend time with outside of school I won't stop you."

"Thanks Oscar!"Oz gave the older man a hug and smiled when he saw Gil standing a few feet away. "There he is now!" Oz waved at the raven gesturing for him to come over.

Gilbert hesitated thoroughly confused by the scene before him. He didn't know that Oz knew Oscar so well. Apparently he waited a second too long though because the blond marched up to him and grabbed his hand, dragging him towards their teacher.

"Oscar, Gil. Gil, Oscar. You two should know each other from class," Oz said when they'd reached Oscar's car.

"Giiiil," Oscar said, placing a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He smiled and Gilbert suddenly got a very bad feeling. "Take care of my boy, alright? We don't want him getting hurt do we?" Oz laughed and pushed Oscar's hand off of Gil.

"Come on don't scare him," Oz said wrapping an arm around the raven's waist. "Anyway if I'm not home by eleven assume that I spent the night at his house okay?"

"Will do. And Gil if he does spend the night could you do me a favor and force him to come to school with you?"

"Yeah sure," Gilbert said. "I can-Ah! But I never said he could-"

"So Gil which way to your house?" Oz asked, walking them away from Oscar.

"My house? Why?" Gil asked. He attempted to pry Oz's arm off of him but apparently the blond wasn't letting go.

"Because I don't go out often so don't know where to take you and besides I don't have any money so if we go out for dinner it's your treat. Therefore going to your house is the best option."

"Oh." Gil sighed giving in. "My house is that way." He pointed and began walking towards his home.

"Gil how big is your family? Are your parents usually home? Do you have any siblings? Can-"

"Hold on! I can't answer all of those at once!" Oz grinned sheepishly.

"Right, sorry. I guess I got a little carried away." Gil rolled his eyes.

"I have a younger brother and both of my parents work night shifts."

"You know how to cook then?"

"Sort of. Enough to not starve anyway." Oz rested his head on Gil's shoulder.

"I think this is going to be fun." Gil blushed as he felt Oz's arm tighten around his waist.

"H-hey! Y-you aren't coming over to have fun!" Oz laughed and looked up at Gil, still smiling.

"I know, I know. It's supposed to be strictly business. But we can mix business and pleasure if we want to right?" The sun was shinning on Oz making his eyes half-lidded because of the brightness and the heat had tinted his cheeks light pink. Gilbert was suddenly too hot and dizzy. So dizzy. The word pleasure kept echoing in his mind. The blond's eyes grew wide and he released Gilbert.

"Are you alright!? You've got a nose bleed!" Oz exclaimed. Gil brought a hand to his nose and sure enough it was bleeding. He groaned internally. This boy was bad for his health.

"I'm fine. I just need something to-"

"Hold on, I'm positive that I've got a tissue." Oz riffled through his bag and Gil tilted his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Here it is!" Oz handed the tissue to Gil and after the blood flow slowed they continued walking. "That was random. Your nose just started gushing."

"Yeah thanks for that. I'm definitely blaming you," Gil muttered under his breath. Oz turned to him.

"Did you say something?"

"Uh, n-nothing. But...is Oscar your dad or something?"

"What? Of course not! Would the school even allow me to be in his class if he was my dad?"

"Then why did he call you 'his boy'?"

"Oh that. He's my caretaker. Sort of like a nanny, actually exactly like a nanny, but if he knew I called him that I'd be in for hell." Gil pulled Oz to a stop because they had finally reached his house. It was average sized: two stories, one bathroom, three bedrooms, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen; nothing special. There was also a backyard that was big enough for his seven-year-old brother, Vincent, to tire himself out in and since he was a bit of a terror otherwise that was all that mattered.

"We're here."

"Aww! What a cute house! It's so tiny!" Oz grabbed Gil's hand and dragged him onto the porch, tapping his foot impatiently as the raven unlocked the door and let them in.

"You know if you think my house is so sma-"

"Big brooother! I'm so happy you're home-"A young boy cried as he ran into view. As soon as he saw Oz though he froze, pointed at the blond, and glared accusingly at Gilbert. "Who the fuck is that?"

"Ahhh! Vincent what did I tell you about saying that word!? And don't point. It's rude," Gil exclaimed. Vincent turned his glare to Oz

"Whoever you are Gil is _mine_."

"This is the brother you told me about?" Oz asked. He was completely unbothered by the rude welcoming and instead seemed slightly amused.

"Yeah. Sorry he's always like this with, well, people _I_ bring home," Gil said. Vincent attached himself to his brother's waist, his eyes still glaring daggers at Oz. "Is Echo here too?" Vincent pouted and stomped a foot.

"No. Her mommy said she doesn't want her around me anymore," Vincent wined. He sniffled and cuddled into his brother.

"Did something happen?"

"No, I was only being nice." Coming from any other kid that might be an amazing thing. But coming from Vincent it could cause heart attacks.

"Of course you were. But what were you doing that upset Echo's mom so much?"

"I was letting Echo help me play with one of my toys." Gil's eyes widened.

"You snuck knives into school again!? And don't I keep telling you to stop decapitating your stuffed animals? If you keep doing that mom and dad will stop buying you new ones."

"But I didn't! Me and Echo decided to rip Mr. Teddy Number Nineteen limb from limb! We didn't use knives!" Gil rubbed his temples trying to force the image out of his head. He almost wished they had used knives. I would have been less disturbing.

"That's good I suppose. And you can still see Echo at school right?"

"Yeah I guess so...I'm hungry."

"Oh, um, Oz you don't mind do you? I have to finish taking care of my nose anyway. Vincent can show you around."

"But I don't wan-"

"Sure that's fine," Oz said, smiling. "I kind of want to talk to him anyway. And remember you're cooking for three!"

"I won't forget and Vincent don't hurt him. Please," Gil said before reluctantly leaving the two.

"You have a habit of hurting people?" Oz asked. Vincent glowered up at him silently. "What are the odds. I have a habit of getting hurt. Um," Oz shook his head and wondered why exactly he'd said that at all let alone to such a little kid, "weren't you going to show me around?" The boy eyed him suspiciously.

"This is the living room. You can leave your shoes and book bag by the door like my brother did." Vincent hardly gave him enough time to before grabbing his wrist and pulling him through the only doorway in the room. "This is the dining room and the kitchen's through that doorway. You can get to the bathroom through the kitchen." On the right side of this room was the doorway Vincent had mentioned and a stairway was in the wall in front of them. "Upstairs are the bedrooms. Now, I'm going to mine." Gil's head popped out of the kitchen.

"Vincent I can hear you. Didn't I tell you to be nice?" Gil asked.

"No. You told me not to hurt him," Vincent said, pouting. "Why's he important anyway? You don't make me be nice to anyone else." Gil blushed.

"B-because-"

"Our teacher threatened him," Oz interjected.

"But he's weird!" Vincent exclaimed. "He said he likes being hurt!"

"I did not! I said I'm used to it." Gil sighed and rested his head against the doorway. So Oz _did_ get hurt often and for whatever reason he thought it'd be a good idea to tell Vincent that.

"Um, Oz quick question," Gil said. "Why would you tell my brother that? Isn't it me you're supposed to be explaining to?"

"...Weren't you cooking something?" Oz asked. He hadn't meant to mention how often he got hurt to the boy, it just slipped out. Actually lately lots of stuff was slipping out.

"Crap! But this conversation isn't over!" Gil disappeared back into the kitchen and Vincent was once again glaring at Oz.

"I guess you can come up to my room then since apparently I'm not allowed to leave you alone," Vincent said grudgingly. The boy trudged up the stairs and Oz followed, practically skipping, behind him. "How do you get hurt?" Oz grinned. He'd known this question was coming.

"All sorts of ways but they're always accidents." The upstairs was a hallway lined with photos and three doors. Vincent let them into the middle one and Oz's eyes widened as he took in the room. It was a demented child's paradise. The only window was large but covered by a thin black curtain, keeping the room dim so his eyes took a minute to adjust. Strewn across the dresser and desk, which were both pushed against the back wall on either side of the window, were stuffed animal limbs, scissors, and a few unfinished pictures. Taped to the walls were more pictures depicting violent, bloody scenes. On the bed, which was placed in the center of the room and took up about a third of it, were other stuffies but instead of being mutilated these were sewn together with parts of other stuffed animals. Vincent was sitting on the bed, slicing into a fresh bunny.

"Accidents? My mommy says there's no such thing as accidents," Vincent said as he grabbed a sewing kit from the side of his bed and began expertly sewing one of the rabbit's ears and both of it's eyes onto his zebra/pig/bear creation.

"Really? Then how would she explain me?" Oz asked, sitting on the ground beside a dog's head. Its mouth had apparently been cut open and sewn closed with purposefully obvious stitches. Oz stared down at it and its eyes seemed to be pleading for him to pull them out. Just as he was about to give into the temptation Vincent's voice regained his attention.

"She'd say you're a gift to the world with a specific purpose like she tells my brother and me. That's what she says about everybody."

"Even criminals?" Vincent stopped stitching and his mouth curved up into a small smile.

"Yes them too. She says that no one starts out bad or evil and they're born gifts like everyone else." His smile slipped a little and he continued stitching the strange animal. "I think she worries about me and that's why she brings it up."

"Nobody's born evil...That's interesting! I don't think my father would agree. What about yours?"

"He doesn't talk about it as much but he agrees with my mom."

"Oh. So are the people in your pictures anybody you know?" Vincent set his finished animal aside and glanced at the picture.

"They're people my brother brings home. Do you want me to draw you one?"

XXXXXX

Gil rushed upstairs unable to believe that Vincent had _brought Oz to his room_. When he's told his brother to be nice he'd meant for Vincent to stay _downstairs_ with Oz not in his _bedroom_ where for all Gil knew the blond was being traumatized...or tortured. His brother enjoyed hurting his friends when he wasn't around. This was the reason he only had Sharon and Break.

"Do you want me to draw you one?" Gil could hear his brother even though the door was closed. Great, Vincent was offering to draw Oz's bloody demise. Since their parents never went into Vincent's room (smart people) they'd never seen his pictures and it was probably for the best. As hard as they tried not to show it they were worried about Vincent's state of mind and seeing his pictures would only add to their stress.

Just as Gil was about to open the door and scold his brother again he heard Oz laughing. Oz...was laughing. The torture must've been worse than he could've imagined! Oz had gone insane!

"Sorry but my dad has dibs on that picture," Oz said as if it were the most common, natural thing in the world. His father? Why would his dad have dibs on a picture of his-Oh. Gilbert's eyes widened and he flung the door open.

"Are you being serious!?" Gil exclaimed.

**Alice: Ugh. So dead. This is the longest chapter I've ever typed and it took **_**forever**_**! X_X Review please! Maybe I'll come back to life.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alice: In case you don't know pasketti is stereotypically how little kids pronounce spaghetti.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pandora Hearts**_**.**

"It's rude to eavesdrop you know," Oz said, ignoring Gil's question and shocked expression.

"I don't care! Does your father abuse you or not!?" Gil exclaimed. He barged into the room and pulled Oz up to a standing position. The blond crossed his arms and pouted.

"Is this really a conversation you want to have in front of your little brother?"

"I don't think it matters since you already told him! And why _did_ you tell him?"

"I never said that Zai's abusing me and I didn't mean to tell him anything. It slipped out. Your brother's too easy to talk to." Vincent actually _listened_, which was sort of strange for such a young boy, and asked questions or brought up subjects that Oz had never had to deal with before. In short the blond was unprepared and it actually felt nice to have someone bring up topics most people avoided. And Vincent didn't freak out like most people, Gil included apparently, did. Besides what Zai did to him _wasn't_ abuse. If you disserved it, it couldn't be.

Gilbert pressed his lips together, confused. His brother was easy to talk to? Since when? This had to be the first time- no the first _person_ to say and really feel that way about his brother. Everybody else was creeped out by him, their parents included but they tried their best to hide it. Sure they loved Vincent but it was kind of impossible not to worry.

"Vincent the food's ready. You can go downstairs and serve yourself. I need to talk to Oz," Gil said with a sigh. Vincent stood taking a stuffed animal with him and walked out of the room pausing long enough in the doorway to give Oz a _do-anything-to-my-brother-and-I-will-kill-you_ look before continuing downstairs.

"Aww! That isn't fair! I'm hungry too!" Oz exclaimed.

"Oh well. You don't get to eat until you talk to me," Gil said feeling like he was scolding a little kid. Oz puffed up his cheeks and blew out a long breath.

"I was gonna talk to you. I'm not stupid; I remember that that's why I came over. You're just too impatient." Oz tapped Gil on the nose and smiled at the overly worried raven.

Gil groaned internally. What was up with this guy? He went from being serious to happy-go-lucky in the blink of an eye. It was confusing and weirded him out a little. The raven sighed again.

"Are you not going to tell me anything until we've eaten?" Gilbert asked. A grin stretched across Oz's face.

"You know me so well and we've barely just met," the blond said, wrapping an arm around Gil's waist and walking them out of the room. Oz squinted his eyes against the light streaming in through the windows on either side of the hallway. Both windows also had a cushioned ledge big enough for about three people to squeeze onto. The blond's eyes drifted to the picture laden wall. "Aww. Is that you?" Oz pointed to a picture of a black haired, golden eyed four-year-old holding a cat as far from his tiny body as possible with tears streaming down his cheeks. Gil immediately felt mortified as he remembered the wall _full of embarrassing pictures_. He was so used to it he pretty much forgot they were their. For example the one two frames to the left of the photo Oz was staring at. The one his mother had taken last year when she took him by surprise. In. The. _Shower_!

"Ah! Y-you were hungry! We can look at the pictures later." Yeah, as soon as he burned every last embarrassing one of himself. Oz allowed Gil to pull him away from the pictures and push him downstairs into the dining room. As soon as Oz saw what Vincent was eating he got... bouncy. Gil had no idea how else to describe the blond's reaction.

"You made pasketti!" Oz exclaimed, running to the table. Both Vincent and Gil stared at him in slight shock. Gilbert thought that nobody said 'pasketti' after they were, at oldest, six. Vincent tilted his head backwards until he could see his brother.

"I told you he's weird," the boy said accusingly. Oz stuck his tongue out at Vincent and slipped into a chair, filling a plate.

"Don't be rude," Gil said even though he was starting to agree. Oz was a little strange. But it was kind of... cute. The blond glanced up from his food, wiping the sauce from his mouth and cheeks away with the back of his hand.

"What are you standing around for? Aren't you going to eat too?"

"Yeah but I have something I need to take care of first."

"It can't wait?" Gil thought of the picture of him in the shower and shuddered. No, it could _not_ wait.

"Sorry. I'll be right back." The raven ran upstairs and Oz rested his head on the table eyeing Vincent warily. He was alone with the boy again and god knows what would come out of his mouth this time. He crossed his fingers hoping that Vincent wouldn't talk to him.

"Oh? Where's Gilbert? I can't believe he left you alone with this demon." Oz jumped and spun around to face Break. Vincent narrowed his eyes.

"You shouldn't break into other people's houses," the boy said. Break flopped onto the table, lying on his stomach and dangled a key in Vincent's face.

"Why would I break in if I have this?" Break asked, slipping the key back into his shirt pocket.

"When did you get that!?"

"I made it a few months ago." Break smiled and sat up. "Hi Oz! You know your brother was asking everybody where you disappeared to. I told him you were with a friend and he was _so_ shocked!" Break leaned toward Oz, pressing their foreheads together. "And here I always thought that you were popular." Oz shrugged.

"I don't go out often. Gil's just special," the blond said. Breaks smile grew even wider.

"I _thought_ so! Well Emily it looks like I'm going to win the bet." Break pushed himself off of Oz and pulled his puppet out of one of his sleeves.

"_Eh, I'm not convinced. He could mean anything by-_" Emily began but 'she' was quickly cut off by Gilbert who was coming back downstairs.

"Break what the heck are you doing here? Vincent did you let him in?" Gil asked.

"Why would I let it in? He went out and made his own key," Vincent said.

"Break you know that's illegal right?"

"Is it? That little detail must have slipped my mind," Break said. He slid off of the table and into the seat beside Vincent. The boy glared at him and tugged a needle out of the stuffed animal resting on his lap. He reached over and stabbed it into Break's thigh. "Ow!" Break yanked the needle, which was a good two inches long (one of which was in his leg), out of his thigh. "Damn that hurt!"

"I'll tell mommy to change the locks," Vincent said going back to his food.

"Vincent you can't do that to people without a reason!" Gil exclaimed.

"But I do have a reason. He spends too much time with you and he's irritating."

"That's... not a good reason."

"_Humph! What a horrid little boy!_" Emily yelled.

"Now, now Emily don't sink down to his level. All I need is a bandage and I'll be fine," Break said, petting his puppet.

"Right! I'll go get you one-" Gil began. Oz dug into one of his pockets and pulled a band-aid out.

"Don't bother," the blond said, interrupting Gil. "I've got lots."

"How convenient. But it's a bit odd don't you think? You're the only person I've met that keeps bandages on them," Break said, taking it from Oz.

"What can I say? I'm clumsy," Oz replied.

"I guess that explains your face. Well! I should be going. I wasn't expecting Gil to be here and I was just stopping in to steal some of that cake his mom made the other day." Break stood and, to irritate Vincent, wrapped an arm around Gilbert's shoulders. "Your mom makes the absolute best cake."

"Break, the next needle goes into your head," Vincent said with a smile.

"Fine, I'm _leaving_. Gilbert you need to get your brother under control. Teach him some manners. For example not to stab and threaten guests. I think he's gotten worse since the last time I saw him." Break detached himself from Gil, waved, and skipped out of the room. They could all heart the door slam behind him when he left. Gil sighed and sat down in the seat Break had been using. What did he do to deserve being surrounded by weirdos?

"Big brother aren't you going to eat?" Vincent asked, setting a plate in front of him. Gil shook his head.

"No, I lost my appetite," the raven said.

"That's great!" Oz exclaimed. "We can hurry up and get the whole serious talk over with then." He set his empty plate aside and pulled his legs up so he was sitting cross-legged on his chair. "This," Oz pointed to the bandage, "was caused when I ran into a lamp. It fell, I fell, and my face landed on top of it. Nothing more, nothing less. Are you satisfied now?" Gilbert pressed his lips together. For all he knew that was a reasonable explanation and he didn't plan on testing it. Plus it wasn't like he had any reason to mistrust Oz and anyway he had a strong feeling that the blond wouldn't change his mind anytime soon and tell him if something else (most likely involving his father) was happening.

"I guess." Oz placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his palms. Gil wasn't convinced. He was worried about the blond and that didn't make any since. Jack worried but he knew what was really happening. Alice didn't worry and she knew how often he got hurt even if she didn't know the depressing details. But Gil who knew less than Alice was as worried as Jack. How did that make since?

"Why do you care? We hardly know each other but you're so concerned about me. I don't get it."

"Do I _need_ to know you to care?" For Oz there were only three people in the world who _knew_ him. Really truly knew him enough to see through any forced emotions he tried to pass off as real. They could also tell when he was thinking awful things about himself and they were the only people in existence who constantly worried about him: Oscar, Jack, and Ada. Alice only saw who he was on the surface and whenever she encountered what he really thought or felt she would comfort him then move on as if it had never happened. She didn't _want_ to see who he was and Zai... Zai hated him too much to bother.

"Yes, I think you do." Gil raised his eyebrows in surprise. His parents had taught him that it was appropriate to be concerned for anyone that might need help. What exactly was Oz being taught?

"Well... I guess I'll just have to get to know you then won't I?"

**Alice: Isn't Vincent a terror? I swear he's only like that with Break though. Anyway, reviews are always loved! XD**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alice: Since I haven't met Gil's foster parents but I have a feeling they weren't exactly affectionate I gave him a new mom. On another note school is starting soon so I'll be busy but I'll try to update as soon as I can.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pandora Hearts**_** but Gil's mom is **_**mine**_**.**

"Gil. Sweetheart wake up." Gil opened his eyes to see his mother standing over him. "Sweetie you must have forgotten to put your alarm on last night." Gil shot up to a sitting position, waking Oz who had been using his chest as a pillow.

"What time is it!?" Gil exclaimed. "Are we going to be late?" Oz sat up and rubbed his eyes, staring at the woman in front of him. She had bright red eyes framed by thick lashes as black as her curling, waist long hair. She was wearing a lacy nightgown and smiling at him pleasantly.

"Gil who's your friend?" the woman asked in such a sweet tone it made the raven flinch.

"Mom this is Oz, one of my... friends. And Oz this is my mom, Elisa," Gil said, glancing at the blond. Oz ran a hand through his hair and flashed the woman his most charming smile.

"Good morning! I hope you slept well; I gotta tell you, you son's really comfortable," Oz said. Gil's mother burst into laughter while her son turned the shade of a tomato.

"How cute! Well, I guess if anyone had to take my son's virginity I'm glad it was you. I just wish I'd met you sooner," Elisa said. Gil froze. His eyes were as wide as plates and his blush flamed even hotter. Oz on the other hand was laughing his ass off.

"M-m-_mom_!" Gil exclaimed. "I-i-i-it's not _like_ that!

"It's not? Sorry honey I just assumed... since you two looked so... Are you sure you aren't lying for my sake? Because you know I'll love you no matter what."

"I _swear_ it isn't like that! Now would you quit talking about it!"

"If you say so." She shook her head and sighed. "And here I was thinking I'll have the most adorable son-in-law and everyone at work will be jealous." Elisa leaned forward and gave her son a kiss on his forehead. It was extremely cute that he turned so red when he blushed. "Moving on, you two have about five minutes before you're late to class." Gil groaned. He was more stressed than he had ever been in his life, didn't know whether or not his mother was serious about the son-in-law thing , and now he had five minutes to get to class.

"Thanks for waking us up." Gil stood and stretched then glared at Oz when the blond laid back down, tugging the blanket over his head. "Oz you have to get up! We're going to be late enough, don't make us later!" Gil's mom walked out of the room, pausing in the doorway.

"If you need me I'm going back to sleep. I was only awake because Vincent, my poor baby, accidently stepped on a needle. Such a clumsy child but if I try to take them away he gets depressed." She yawned again and continued muttering to herself the rest of the way to her room.

Gil shook his head. There was no way Vincent getting hurt was an accident. It didn't happen very often but the raven was sure that it was his younger brother's way of getting positive attention from their parents as opposed to the slightly forced smiles and concerned glances he usually received. Gil turned to Oz who was a lump under the blankets and bit down on his bottom lip. If Oz _was_ being abused by his father... For god's sake Gil couldn't even stop his little brother from hurting himself and other people so how on Earth would he be able to help Oz? The raven shook his head and released a sigh. Might as well start small.

"Oz get up! Let's not be later than we need to be," Gil said, pulling the blanket off of the blond.

"Noooo!" Oz moaned, throwing a pillow at the raven's head and putting another one on top of his own to block out the light. "If we're gonna be late anyway can't we just not go?"

"Of course we have to go! You'll be lucky if they let you graduate as it is. Sure you have good grades but you're only allowed to miss a certain amount days a semester." Oz waved his words away.

"Zai's got that covered with Oscar. As long as I've got a tutor I'm fine."

"I've never heard of that." Oz's laughter was muffled by the pillow

"That's 'cause it only applies to me. My dad talked the principal into allowing it." Gil pressed his lips together and placed his hands on his hips. Obviously Oz wasn't budging. The raven didn't plan on giving up but their first hours had already started and he still needed to take a shower.

"I'll be back in five minutes. You can be up by then right?" Even muffled by the pillow Oz's laughter was loud. Gil rolled his eyes and left the room.

The raven found Vincent lying in the kitchen with his arms and legs spread out as if he wanted to take up as much of the room as possible. Since the kitchen wasn't very big his head was against the stove, his left hand touched the counter, and the fingers of his right hand brushed the refrigerator. Gil almost tripped over the boy's legs when he walked into the room.

"Vincent? What are you doing in here?" Gil asked. There was a large window above the counter that didn't have a curtain and usually made the room bright. His brother wasn't exactly a light kind of person and it was odd for him to leave his bedroom unless he had to. Vincent opened one eye and his face broke into a smile.

"I'm hurt and didn't feel like going back upstairs. And it's raining so the sun isn't bothering me," Vincent said, lifting his injured foot to show Gil. The wound must've still been bleeding because he could see a dark spot on the pad of the band-aid.

"You aren't going to school?" Vincent lowered his leg and yawned.

"Nope, mom said I could I could stay home."

"Alright. Don't bother her and dad though. They need their sleep." Vincent pouted and crossed his arms.

"I know that! And why are you here? Are you staying home too?"

"No, I'm just running late. Actually," Gil glanced at the clock on the stove and sure enough five minutes had already passed, "I should be out of the shower right now."

"Guess I'll see you in a few minutes then."

Oz had drifted back to sleep after Gil left the room and was woken up by someone pulling him off of the bed. He shoved the pillow off of his head and stared straight into Gil's golden eyes. He raised an eyebrow and smirked. Gil's face was centimeters away from his, his hair was damp, and he had changed out of his pajamas.

"What? Do I get a good morning kiss or something?" Oz asked sleepily. Gil blushed and jerked backwards.

"N-no! Don't be stupid!" Gilbert exclaimed. He pushed aside his embarrassment and picked Oz up bridal style, surprising the blond.

"H-hey? Where are you taking me?" Gil ignored him and carried Oz into the bathroom. He also didn't pay attention to Vincent's complaints about how he should be the one getting carried instead of that "fucking blond" as he so graciously put it. Gil dropped Oz, fully clothed, into the filled bath tub (it also had a shower head that was used more often than not because there usually wasn't enough time for baths). Oz stared up at Gil, his mouth gaping open. His hair was soaking wet and hanging in his eyes so to properly glare at the raven he had to brush it aside.

"Are you awake _now_?" Oz slowly shook his head.

"You _ass_hole. What the hell?" Gil shrugged.

"It didn't look like you were going to get ready on your own any time soon and if I really was an asshole that water would be freezing cold. You're lucky I had the decency to make it warm. Anyway you can hang your cloths on the bar." Gil pointed at the horizontal pole holding up the shower curtain. "I'll bring you some of mine to wear and, by the way, you're taking a _shower_."

"What if I want a-"

"Baths take to long" Oz pouted but didn't object. After a few seconds had passed he cocked his head to the side, staring at Gil. His eyes glinted mischievously.

"Are you going to leave or did you want to watch?" Gil flushed, turning away from Oz.

"Of-of course not! I-I mean it's not like you aren't- I just don't think I- er, I _don't-_" Oz laughed, cutting him off. "J-just hurry up!" Gil left the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Vincent glanced up from where he was still lying.

"You're all red," the boy said, narrowing his eyes. "What did Oz say?" Gil's blush deepened and he sighed.

"Something he shouldn't have," Gil grumbled. Vincent laid back down and closed his eyes.

"I say lots of things _I_ shouldn't. This morning I told mommy that I stabbed Break even though you said I can't tell her about hurting people. I only wanted to know what she'd say. But she didn't make a single sound or turn red like you. She just got really, really pale and backed away from me. It was so nice before I mentioned stabbing Break. She was worried about me and wouldn't even let me put the band-aid on by myself. But then I told her and... and I don't think... mommy... likes me very much..." Vincent trailed off, rubbing his eyes and drifting to sleep. Gil knelt beside his brother and brushed Vincent's bangs back.

"Why would you tell her that," the raven murmured. "You already knew you'd only get hurt."

XXXXXX

By the time they had arrived at the school (thank goodness it had stopped raining) they'd missed both first and second hour and third hour had started. Then during Oscar's class Sharon was practically boring holes into the back of Gil's head. When break started, all too early in his opinion, he was wishing he'd given in to Oz and skipped school.

"Break told me that you took Oz to your house. By the way I can't believe you let Vincent stab him!" Sharon said, glaring at Gil.

"You know that I can't stop him when it comes to Break. Those two hate each other," the raven said. Sharon seemed to think that over then turned her glare to the albino.

"Maybe you did disserve it. And it isn't like you were seriously hurt."

"Ahhh. But I didn't do anything to him," Break objected. "He was being immature."

"He's a little kid. Of course he's immature. It's your fault for hating him back." Break puffed up his cheeks and dropped his head onto his desk.

"Nooo! You're supposed to be on my side."

"I am." She leaned over to pet Break on the head and smiled. "If that brat hurts you when I'm around he won't know what hit him." Gil groaned internally. Great, now Sharon wanted to beat his little brother to a pulp. "Anyway, Gil, when did Oz leave?"

"And was it because Vincent scared him off?"

"He didn't," Gil said but as soon as the words left his mouth he wanted to take them back. Break and Sharon's eyes lit up. Gil closed his own, silently cursing himself and when he opened them Break was seated on his desk. "Holy-"

"Giiil. Would you care to explain?" Sharon asked, snaking her arms around his shoulders so he couldn't escape.

"Listen, it isn't what you guys-"

"Gilbert did you by any chance lose your virginity?" Break asked. Gil's face flamed hotter than he would have thought possible a few days ago.

"D-d-don't say stuff like that in class!" Gil exclaimed, clapping a hand over Break's mouth. Break licked the hand and Gil jerked it away in disgust.

"Can I take that as a yes?"

"_No_! He only spent the night! _Nothing_ happened." Gil leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. "Geez first my mom and now you guys."

"That must have been an awkward conversation." Break smirked when he spotted Oz walking towards them. "Oh look. Here comes your boyfriend."

Oz yawned and stretched, wishing Gil had let him stay at the house and sleep. Alice leaned over and poked his cheek to get his attention. He turned to her putting on a smile.

"Oz quit zoning out," Alice wined. "I want attention."

"Sorry," Oz said grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles. "I've been kinda distracted lately and I didn't get enough sleep last night." Alice blushed and drew her hand out of his. Jack tugged on his brother's hair, pulling his head so they were facing each other.

"Speaking of last night where did you go?" Jack asked. "I didn't realize you had close friends." Oz shrugged.

"I don't aside from you and Alice." Jack's brow furrowed.

"Then why would you-"

"Because it was important. And besides I've never spent the night at somebody else's house before. ...It was nice. I got to meet his mom." Oz's eyes glazed over as he zoned out again, lost in his thoughts. Alice sighed in exasperation.

"Ten minutes," she muttered. "All I want is _ten minutes_! Is that really too much to ask for?" She felt tears pricking the back of her eyes and stared down at her desk refusing to let them fall.

"Of course not," Jack said. He stood and climbed over his chair to get to Alice then hesitantly placed a hand on her back. When she didn't immediately harm him he began running his fingers through her hair in an attempt to comfort her. "Oz has always been this way. He's... damaged. You know that. Maybe not _why_ but you do know that he is." Alice tensed and shook Jack off of her.

"No. I don't know. I don't know anything." Alice clamped her hands over her ears, staring at her desk like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "Not fair," she murmured. "It's not fair. Why is it always him? _He's_ damaged. _He's_ hurt. _He_ needs comfort. Even though I always act like I don't see any of it he shows me again. And again. And again. But... I don't wanna know about it. I don't wanna know how hurt he is." She stared up at Jack, her eyes filling with tears. "Why does it always have to be about him?"

"Alice..." Jack reached out to touch her but she slapped his hand away. Oz stood suddenly, startling them both.

"I'm going to go talk to somebody," the blond said. Alice shot out of her seat.

"Oz you asshole! It's always _you_! _Always_!" She gritted he teeth and clenched her fists but her supposed boyfriend wasn't paying any attention to her. Again. Whether intentionally or not he never did like giving her the attention she craved. He was too... _damaged_ to really pay attention to her needs. She collapsed into her seat, massaging her temples.

Jack glanced between his brother and Alice, pressing his lips together. Wasn't this interesting. He'd never realized how much Alice hated Oz's pain. She almost treated it like it was his fault and he _wanted_ go into depressions. That was far from the truth though since Oz wouldn't have asked for the life he'd been given and if he had a choice Jack knew Oz would never let himself be born. At the same time Alice definitely had a right to be upset. When Oz wasn't forcing himself to be happy (the only times he concentrated on Alice and lately he'd been ignoring her then too) he was either lost in his thoughts or, when things were really bad, looking for someone to vent to.

Occasionally that person was Alice and although she didn't know all of the details she did at least know that Oz was never truly happy. Compared to that any sadness she felt didn't matter, especially because if you didn't watch Oz carefully enough he might really decide that the world would be better off without him. Any sane person would want to go into denial about that if it was someone they loved who felt that way. And on top of that Alice thought she didn't have a right to be unhappy. All Jack wanted to do was tell Alice that it was alright for her to feel sad or overwhelmed or want to be comforted. That her emotions mattered just as much as Oz's. That, if she ever wanted to, she could use him as a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately he knew that _he_ wasn't the one she wanted to hear any of this from. At the moment that person was across the room approaching a dark haired boy.

"He's not my- uh, hi Oz," Gil said, glaring at Break.

"What were you guys talking about?" Oz asked, squeezing onto Gil's seat.

"Nothing!" The blond smirked and draped his legs over Gil's, wrapping his arms around the raven's neck so he wouldn't fall backwards.

"So you were talking about me."

"You, Gil, what possibly happened between you two in be-" Break began.

"Shut up!" Gil exclaimed, cutting him off. Sharon pulled her legs onto her chair so she could kneel and leaned forward in excitement, glancing between Gil and Oz.

"So, what happened?" Sharon asked. The blond shrugged.

"Nothing much. Why? Was there something you _wanted_ to happen?" He flashed Sharon a smile and she practically melted.

"N-no. Not unless I could watch- I mean I'm involved- I mean-"Sharon clamped a hand over her mouth, her cheeks as red as Gil's. She stared out of the window nearest their desks, unable to meet anyone's eyes. Oz's smile grew and he gave her a peck on the cheek. Sharon stared at him wide-eyed, whipping out her fan but before she could beat him senseless Alice stomped up to him, yanking him out of Gil's chair by his hair.

"You bastard!" Alice cried. While all of the yelling earlier had been quiet enough to ignore this outburst captured everybody's attention. Alice's eyes were a bit puffy and red and she looked like she was out for blood.

"Ow! Um, hey Alice. That kind of hurts," Oz said, attempting to loosen her grip on his hair She stared down at him, smiling up at her then glanced across the room at Jack whose eyes were pleading with her _not_ to hurt him and slowly she forced her anger into the place every emotion she wasn't allowed to feel was banished. She released Oz's hair and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Come on," Alice said quietly. She caressed Oz's cheek and placed a kiss on the tip of his nose (she wasn't one to show affection but she felt awful for hurting him). "Class is almost over." She grabbed his hand, pulled him to his feet, and led him back to their desks.

"That," Sharon said breaking the silence that had followed their departure, "was... unexpected."

"Hmm," Break murmured. "It seems Alice gets jealous." He turned his attention to Gil. "On the bright side who wants to be with someone that abuses them? Your chances with him just got much better!"

"I _told_ you I don't like him that way!" Gil exclaimed distractedly. He was still staring at Oz wondering why the blond had put up with that treatment. It was like he was used to it. Gil's thoughts once again went to Oz's wound and his home life and he grabbed a piece of paper. Feeling embarrassed and a little stupid he scrawled the words _Call me_ and his cell phone number. On his way out of the classroom Gil slipped the paper to an amused and curious looking Oz. He sincerely hoped he wouldn't end up regretting this. And that Alice wouldn't end up killing him... Shit. He was regretting it already.

**Alice: I debated just giving this to you guys late but decided not to be mean and forced myself to type it up. So please review! They always make me so happy! XD**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alice: I am **_**so**_** sorry this took such a long time! Please don't kill me! If anything blame the person that decided homework was a 'good' thing. XP By the way who hates Alice just because she's dating Oz? Come on, be honest. XD**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pandora Hearts**_**.**

_Call me._ Oz pressed his lips together to hold back a smile as he peeked at the note for the fiftieth time since school had let out and put it back in his pocket. God, how long had it been since one of his smiles wasn't partially forced? And he had to suppress it or Alice, who he was walking home with (Jack was picking up Ada and dropping her off at her house like usual), would burn the paper, beat him up, and forbid him from seeing Gil ever again. The funniest thing was that as far as Oz was concerned her jealousy was unnecessary. He _loved_ her even if she didn't want to see below his facade and occasionally treated him bad. She would always feel awful afterwards and that made it all better in Oz's eyes. She didn't want to hurt him but he knew that he could be a bother and she got frustrated. He completely understood.

"Oz!" Alice yelled, snapping her fingers in front of his face. The blond jumped and smiled apologetically at her.

"Sorry. I zoned out again didn't I," Oz said, forcing himself to focus on _Alice_ and not the piece of paper in his pocket.

"I was asking you where those cloths came from." She pinched the dark cloth of the t-shirt Oz was wearing and wrinkled her nose. "Black doesn't suit you."

"Someone lended them to me because mine were all... wet." Shoot. He'd left his cloths at Gil's hadn't he?

"Did you get caught in the rain? Wait. Who do you know that has extra cloths at school?" Oz shrugged.

"Everyone that takes gym."

"You're wearing jeans. Those aren't gym cloths." She pulled Oz to a stop and pouted. "Don't lie to me."

"I didn't. You asked who I knew that had cloths at school."

"You know what I meant." Alice crossed her arms and began tapping her foot impatiently.

"I borrowed them from Gil. The guy I spent the night with. And I didn't get caught in the rain; he dropped me in a bathtub."

"_Why_!?" Oz laughed at her reaction which only succeeded in ticking her off. "I don't see what's so funny! What the hell gave him the right to do that?"

"I wasn't waking up fast enough and we were already running late." Alice huffed and glared at him.

"Since when do you care what time you get to class?"

"You're missing the point. _I_ didn't care and was all for skipping. _Gil's_ the one that dropped me in the bathtub." Alice stared at Oz, scrutinizing his expression. He almost appeared- but no, he couldn't be. Because he'd never been one hundred percent happy in his life. Why now?

Alice felt her lips tighten into a thin line as the silence between them grew. Gil... that must be a nickname for the Gilbert Nightray boy in their math class. Also the only new thing in Oz's life. She swore to god that if she wasn't mistaken and _that boy_ was the reason Oz was happy, something she hadn't been able to accomplish in the years she'd known the blond even with all of the emotions and privileges she'd given up, there would be no mercy. The thought that someone else could do what she'd been trying so hard to do didn't make her angry per say... She was more along the lines of hurt or defeated. That she couldn't do what _Gil_ (just his name made her want to wring a person's, preferably his, neck) had been able to in a matter of days was insulting! And it made her feel so-so (again with those damn tears!) expendable. As if she didn't matter, wasn't needed.

"Oz?" Alice said quietly. Surprisingly enough he was actually paying attention (apparently miracles could happen!).

"Yeah?" Oz said. He put his hand in his pocket and ran his thumb over Gil's note, the corners of his lips turning up unconsciously. When he spotted Alice's expression though, shockingly soft and unguarded, his smile slipped away to be replaced by concern. He practically never saw this side of her: unsure, vulnerable, and with enough sadness to let him know that there was a lot more inside of her that she would never let him see. It was terrible to know that he was the cause of this need she had to hold back her emotions and unlike Alice he acknowledged these few and far between moments of weakness when she let small pieces of the pain she felt slip through.

"Can we go somewhere? You don't have to be home right away do you?" Oz thought of Oscar who was supposed to be tutoring him today because of the lesson he'd missed the other day and Zai who hated him doing anything that he might even remotely enjoy and shook his head.

"No, I'm sure nothing too important is going on. Besides I can always make time for you." Alice blushed and grabbed Oz by the wrist, pulling him away from the direction of his house. Oscar would be ticked and his father... hopefully wouldn't notice if he didn't stay too long but oh well. Oz thought he'd upset Alice enough for one day. It was only fair that he tried to make up for it by doing something she wanted to do.

"I've got money on me so I'll pay." Alice shook her head. "Geez, I can't imagine not getting an allowance. How do you survive?"

"We're going out to eat?" Oz asked, choosing to ignore the comment about allowances and surviving.

"Nowhere fancy. I only have enough money for fast food and that's if we get the cheapest stuff."

"Doesn't matter to me. What's really important is that we get to spend time together right?" Alice smiled and nodded feeling elation swell up inside of her. What was she thinking being jealous of a boy Oz had met a few days ago? Who cared if Gil could make the blond a little happy? Oz wasn't going to _leave_ her because of that. They were in love no matter how tiring it got sometimes. She twined their fingers together and gave his hand a squeeze, shoving her many doubts to the back of her mind so they could spend some quality time with every other negative thing she'd felt or thought since she'd met Oz. And besides they were going on a date, regardless of the fact that she was the one paying, there was no way she'd allow herself to worry and ruin it. Because Oz was with _her_. Not Gil. Her.

XXXXXX

Alice dipped a handful of french-fries into her mountain of ketchup and, like the ungraceful eater she prided herself on being, she stuffed them into her mouth somehow managing to keep her face clean. Unlike the other people in the restaurant who were unused to such displays and stared at her in fascinated disgust Oz, who was used to the sight and honestly found it slightly adorable, picked at his own food and paid her eating habits no mind. Alice licked her fingers after she'd finished and paused finally noticing all of the stares. She pouted and glared around the room.

"Do any of you _want_ something?" Alice snapped. Following this was an awkward silence that lasted longer than anyone would have liked before the few people in the restaurant, aside from Alice and Oz, went back to their own food and conversations. Oz grabbed Alice's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Her violet eyes met his green ones and immediately softened.

"They're obviously not used to seeing such a beautiful girl. They can't help but stare," Oz said and kissed her hand. Alice looked away to hide her flaming face.

"D-don't lie!"

"I'm not." he grabbed her chin and gently turned her head so she was once again facing him. Oz brushed her bangs out of her eyes and let out a sigh. "You shouldn't have such a low opinion of yourself."

"I don't! ...It's just no wonder they stare. You eat slowly and in comparison that makes me look like a-"

"_Alice_." Oz sounded so serious that Alice was afraid he might break down again, something that he hadn't done in months to her absolute pleasure. She fidgeted and watched him closely, ready to take him out of the building to keep him from embarrassing himself if the need arose. He was watching her just as intently if not more so though. As if he expected _her_ to burst into tears. Alice stiffened at the very idea. Her giving in was an extremely rare occurrence and she didn't intend to admit defeat to the tension, anger, fear, and depression that had been gnawing at her and building up since last year or the year before that. Not yet anyway. Not because a bunch of morons decided to stare at her since she was the most ungraceful eater she knew. (_Grrr_. People could be so incredibly annoying and rude!)

"What?" The word came out harsher than she'd intended it to be on account of her irritation spiking.

"Can't we just agree that they can't take their eyes off of you because you're drop dead gorgeous?"

"Ugh! That's way too embarrassing!" Alice crossed her arms and slouched down lower in her chair.

"It's not embarrassing. It's a compliment."

"...Thank you I guess. But I can handle rude people, you know. Besides I don't see anything wrong with the way I eat as long as I'm not being compared to irritating people that pick at their food like _you_." Alice plucked a fry from Oz's small pile, scraped what was left of her ketchup onto it, and popped it into her mouth for emphasis.

"And that's part of the reason I adore you." With those words Alice was officially on cloud nine. Oz was actually holding up a conversation with and _focusing_ on her. After god knew how long she'd been given the exact opposite treatment. This could be considered heaven in comparison to that. Seriously, what more could she ask for?

Unfortunately their date had to come to an end when five p.m. came around. Oz, unlike his brother, had a curfew of 'as soon as he got out of school' and when he saw the clock hanging on the wall opposite their table he nearly fell out of his chair. Thirty minutes, what he had planned on, over that time was one thing but two hours was a whole other story. His eyes had grown to twice their size and he'd let out a string of curses before he got a hold of himself. He then blushed a bit, apologized to the parents that had come with children for his choice of words, and explained the curfew (saying instead that he had to be home by five as opposed to as soon as school let out) to Alice.

"You should have told me sooner!" Alice scolded him as they jogged to his house. Oz shrugged, trying his best to appear nonchalant even though he could hear the blood pounding in his ears and knew his face had blanched.

"I didn't realize the time would go by that quickly," Oz said. If he was missing one night his father might not notice but Zai wasn't _stupid_ or without anger issues. Oscar may have said he'd cover for Oz but the blond doubted his father didn't realize he wasn't there, especially if he needed to hit something yesterday. And today he was hours late getting home... Needless to say they reached the house too soon for Oz's tastes.

"So, will I see you at school tomorrow or do you think you're going to skip?" School reminded Oz of Gilbert which, of course, reminded him of the phone number in his pocket. His apprehension vanished and was replaced with the almost happiness he'd been feeling earlier. He had to bite down on his bottom lip to keep from grinning like an idiot. How strange. He never got this excited to see Alice, Jack, or even Ada.

"Yeah, sure. Why not." They walked up to his porch and Oz pressed a kiss to Alice's forehead, whispered a goodbye, and after watching her walk a block away from the house went inside.

"Where the fuck have you been?" _Shiiiit_. Oz's mood didn't just plummet. It went into a freefall that didn't stop at the ground but instead imbedded itself six feet into the earth where it promptly shriveled up and died.

"Hey Zai," Oz said, reluctantly turning around to face his father. Damn. Zai looked absolutely livid.

"What did I tell you about going out?" Zai said, pure rage seeping into his words. Oz cringed. The rule when his father was home was to come home right away, no delays allowed, if he bothered to go to school.

"It's not fair though. Why does Jack get to go anywhere at anytime he wants but I don't?" Both of them froze. Oz was possibly more shocked than Zai that he'd said something.

"What's gotten into you?" Zai gripped Oz's chin, pushing the band aid that was covering the nearly healed wound aside and digging his nail into it. The blond had to lean back against the door in order to stay upright. If he ended up on the ground his punishment would only be worse. Oz concentrated on evening out his breathing and keeping his eyes focused. "Why on earth would you think that you disserve the same treatment as your brother? It's not like you're human. You're just a demon that took away the one thing in my life that I've ever loved." Suddenly the door cracked against the back of Oz's head and he let out a cry purely from surprise since the pain in his cheek was far enough past agony that he couldn't process the new ache.

"Oz why are you..." Jack said, squeezing his head through the partially opened door. He trailed off when he saw the scene before him and quickly forced himself the rest if the way into the room. He could tell one thing for certain: Zai was pissed and clearly out for blood. Jack sort of wished he still had Ada with him since their father was always kinder to everyone and thing when she was around. Apparently, despite there being no blood relation between Ada and anyone in the family due to the fact that both Rachel and Zai (Oz and Jack's mother and father) had no siblings and their mother had died years before the girl was born, Ada had similarities to their mom and she never failed to soften Zai up.

"What are you doing? Let him go. He's bleeding again; he'll need new stitches," Jack said softly. Zai may not have hurt _him_ yet but that didn't mean that with one wrong word he wouldn't.

Zai released Oz so fast you'd think he'd been burned. Based on that, his disgusted expression, and how he was holding his had away from the rest of his body while walking toward the nearest bathroom Oz could tell that yes, he was bleeding. He closed his eyes, slid down the door to the floor, and pealed the band aid off of his face. He was supposed to be able to get the stitches taken out in a few days but because of this he might end up needing more instead. Oz groaned internally.

Jack knelt beside his brother and hesitantly patted his head. Aside from the fact that helping Oz was the tiniest bit terrifying his brother never wanted his help. Jack rarely got a sincere thank you out of him because he was such a masochist. Always thinking he disserved what he got and then some... God, that attitude made Jack want to hit him. Or hold him and tell him he was wrong because he never did anything to disserve the punishments he received.

"Jack," Zai called from the bathroom. "I almost forgot to tell you. I'm leaving tomorrow and won't be back for awhile. Try not to be too lenient with your brother alright? I know you're babying him. It's no wonder he's acting out." If Jack wanted to hit his brother he wanted to castrate his father. "By the way who's the bitch I always see hanging off of him? I ran into her a few days ago and she was quite the annoying little slut." Zai walked out of the bathroom, drying his hands on a towel. "Does the school really allow skirts that short?" Jack was no longer going to castrate this man. Oh no, he was going to tear him limb from limb starting with his toes and slowly working his way up. Then he'd happily burn the remains.

"Her name's _Alice_ and you shouldn't talk about her that way," Oz said, startling Jack. The older of the twins had thought that his brother had passed out from the pain or at least wouldn't dare talk back to Zai after he'd been hurt. On second thought Jack had never expected Oz to talk back to Zai _period_. It wasn't normal and it was going to get him killed! Zai stiffened an oddly pleasant, given the circumstances, smile tilting up the corners of his mouth.

"So beaten down yet the words keep coming," Zai said, his eyes glittering with... was that... _interest_? Jack shuddered, fearing for his brother's life. Thank god Oscar had decided to go back to the school once he'd realized Oz wouldn't be home for the tutoring. None of them wanted to have to explain the situation to him but at the moment that was the only up side. "Why Oz, could you have made my job of raising you actually fun?" Jack held back a retort at the word 'raising'. If Zai honestly thought he was being remotely father-like to Oz he was delusional. "To think now I get to beat a demon that actually fights back... it's a pity I have to leave tomorrow." He exited the room without another word, leaving the brothers alone.

"Oz, you shouldn't have done that. I would have stood up for Alice for you," Jack said cautiously. Oz had lowered his head and closed his eyes as soon as Zai had left the room. His newly opened wound was bleeding steadily and he was completely still and silent. "Oz?"

"I don't want you to need to do things for me," Oz said, opening and raising his eyes to Jack's. Jack brushed his brother's bangs aside and nodded in understanding.

"I know. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't let me. Zai's glad to have another reason to hurt you and that's all that was to him. By the way what did he mean when he said you were acting out?" Oz shrugged.

"I told him it wasn't fair that I don't get to go places and you do." Jack's brow furrowed. What the hell was going on? Something had to be different otherwise why would Oz have suddenly realized that he had a right to an actual life too? Not that Jack wasn't happy but...

"Why did you-" Oh. Wait. One thing was different. The person he'd had to spend the night with. Who he said wasn't a friend and hadn't gotten around to revealing the identity of.

"Why? Because I was in such a good mood when I got home and he ruined it." Oz's tone was so cold that it made Jack flinch. "...Hey, Jack?" Oz's expression softened as his thoughts moved away from Zai. "Would you take me to the hospital? I don't want to go alone and I'm starting to feel dizzy." Shit! How could Jack have been just _kneeling_ there while his little brother bled out!?

"Yeah. Of course, I'll take you." Jack stood up and helped Oz to his feet. He opened the door and, seeing as how they obviously weren't going to get a ride from their father, began walking with Oz hand-in-hand toward the hospital. Thank goodness it was only a few blocks away. "Oz you know you never told me who you spent the night with." Since there probably wouldn't be a good time to ask Jack figured 'why wait'?

"I didn't?" Jack shook his head. "Guess I just told Alice then. Well, it was Gil. Gilbert Nightray." The corners of Oz's lips turned up at the mention of the other boy.

Jack pressed his lips together. Gil, huh? Wasn't that the boy that had been listening to him and Alice talking about Oz on the day Zai hit him with the vase? He'd almost seemed concerned too hadn't he? Jack stared at Oz who was lost in his own world. Exactly how much did Gilbert know? And why did his brother have that look in his eyes? Like he had found the most amazing thing in his life and hated every second away from it. But that was love wasn't it? And Oz was in love with Alice. Besides he had said they weren't even friends. Jack ran a hand through his hair, hopelessly confused and shook his head. Now wasn't the time to stress over things like this. He had to get Oz to a doctor and besides it wasn't any of his business.

"Thanks by the way," Oz murmured. "For stopping him." Jack's eyes widened. Did he hear that right? "You didn't have to and I actually appreciated it this time." And if he was lucky he wouldn't be too hurt and could see Gil tomorrow at school.

**Alice: I know. No Gil. So disappointing. And I don't know anything about stitches so if Zai shouldn't have been able to break open Oz's wound, um,… sorry? Okay so this probably isn't what you want to hear but I don't know what's going to happen in the next chapter let alone when I'll publish it sooo I guess don't hold your breath waiting. SORRY! X( But you should definitely still review. Please!**


	8. Chapter 8

*****IMPORTANT!*** By the end-ish of November my name will be changed to Alice D. Lovett. I know it's inconvenient and I'm sorry.**

**Alice: ….If you forgot this existed I completely understand! Between school and writers' block though it was really hard to finish. On the bright side it's kinda long. Th-that makes up for it right? And let's say this story started on a Tuesday so that it can be Friday because I don't think I ever specified on the days.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pandora Hearts**_**.**

Surprisingly enough Oz didn't need any new stitches. On the contrary he was able to get the ones he had taken out since his father hadn't dug into the wound too deeply and the original cut was mostly healed. He stared at himself in his mirror and pressed his lips together. It was mostly better; just a jagged crescent shaped scratch with an already healing circular gash (from Zai's thumb) splitting it in two was left. The edges of it were a light pink, making it obvious that he'd be stuck with this strange scar for life. He could only hope that over time it'd fade enough to be completely unnoticeable. But that wasn't the most important thing at the moment. Nor was explaining this scar to anyone that asked. Or even that Zai was leaving! (Thank god) It was convincing Jack to let him go to school today.

He was insistent on Oz's staying home and resting despite the doctor saying he'd be fine. Of course Jack's argument of, "Do you actually think I'll take your doctor's word for it? He's a corrupt jackass and I've got no reason to believe a word of bullshit that comes out of his mouth! I mean look at what he lets Zai do to you! He's an adult! He could do something if he wanted to but all he cares about it money! So you're staying home and that's final," was definitely valid. Either way he was going but… It'd be better to get permission first.

"Hey," Jack said. Oz raised his eyes from the scar-to-be and saw his brother leaning in his bedroom's doorway through the mirror. "You should be lying down."

"I'm not sick. And I'm not tired either," Oz said, slowly turning to face his brother. Jack grimaced when he caught sight of the wound. He couldn't believe the doctor had said his brother didn't need more stitches! All that was left of the original wound may have resembled a paper cut but what Zai had done yesterday seemed pretty serious.

"Geez, it's bleeding." Oz blinked. He was? How the hell did he miss that? He looked back into the mirror and sure enough a trail of red was running from his cheeks to his chin where drops fell to the ground, staining the carpet. It was a good thing it was dark blue and not white. The stains wouldn't show up.

"I didn't even notice." Jack walked to the bandage drawer, pulled one out, and shook his head.

"I swear you don't know how to take care of yourself."

"I do!" Oz snatched the band aid away before his brother could place it over the wound. "_You_ never let me." Oz put it on, puffing up his cheeks and releasing an exasperated breath. "Zai was right about that at least even if the context was wrong. You baby me. And not in the good way because I don't feel spoiled."

"What do you mean I don't spoil you?"

"You think you do?"

"Yes I- Listen I don't have time for this right now. I need to walk Ada to school." That got Oz's attention.

"Ada?" Jack mentally cursed himself. Of course Oz would want to see their little sister. He was an utter moron for bringing her up.

"Yeah. I drop her off and pick her up everyday. Remember?"

"I'm just as surprised as you that it slipped my mind. So? Can I go with you?"

"Oz…" No… He-he wasn't. Oz was _not_ giving him puppy dog eyes! And partially because he wanted to go to school of all things!

"It's been over a month since I last saw her. She probably doesn't remember what I look like anymore."

"She sees me most everyday and we're identical. I think she remembers."

"Come on. Please?" Jack stared into his brother's pleading eyes and felt his will crumble.

"_Shit_. Aright fine, but hurry up. She can't be late." Oz grinned and rushed to his closet to change out of his pajamas, grab his book bag, and put on his shoes. He was done in thirty seconds flat and racing after Jack who had already left the house.

"Zai's gone already?" Oz asked when he caught up with his brother.

"Yeah I heard him leaving earlier this morning." Jack heaved a sigh and glanced sideways at Oz. "You _really_ screwed up you know? I'm proud of you and everything for standing up for yourself but… Oz do you know how much worse it's going to get because of that?" Oz nodded his head slowly, his smile diminishing.

"I know. I couldn't help it though." Oz thought back to the way his father had looked at him. As if while his life used to have some worth, no matter how small, it was now unworthy of even being spit on. Death felt imminent but that was only fair. There was that saying "an eye for an eye". In his case it happened to be a life for a life and most of him was ready for that. It used to be all of him but now a small- actually not so small- bit needed to sort out what he was feeling for Gil before he could say his goodbyes. "We shouldn't tell Ada. It will only upset her." Jack cringed, immediately understanding where his brother's thoughts were.

"I wasn't planning to. She's too young to know all of this." They stopped in front of a large white house; much too big for a seven-year-old girl and her nanny. Ada was sitting on the porch, playing with the ends of her hair. "Ada! Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah I-," Ada began but froze when she spotted her other brother, his hands in his pockets and looking as glad to see her as she was to see him. It took every ounce of her willpower not to cry out his name (because Mrs. Kate wound surely tell their father if she knew of these visits) as she promptly burst into tears and dashed to his side. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him as tightly as she could. "Oz… I missed you."

"Zai left again so you can expect some visits," Oz said, hugging her back. Ada glanced up at him and her eyebrows furrowed in concern. She got on her tip-toes and lightly touched is cheek.

"Did daddy do that?" Despite how hard they tried to keep her from knowing of the awful things their father did she was a smart girl. Ada didn't know how bad it could get though and her brothers weren't going to be the ones to tell her. She loved her adoptive father and rightly so since he adored her. At the same time she knew Zai could be cruel to Oz which made her feelings for the man conflicted. She wanted to hate her father but couldn't. So, to make it easier on her…

"No, it was an accident," Oz lied, ruffling her hair. She nodded relief evident in her eyes.

"Alright, you two can catch up later," Jack said, grabbing one of her hands. Oz tightly grasped the other. "Ada will be late if we don't hurry up."

"Aww! Do I have to go?" Ada asked pleadingly. "Can't I spend the day with Oz?" Oz laughed and shook his head, shocking both of his siblings. He never missed an opportunity to spend a day with Ada, whether she had school or not.

"Wow, I'm a bad influence aren't I?" Oz said.

"That's what I keep telling you," Jack muttered. Oz ignored him and began the walk to his sister's school, dragging the other two behind him.

"Sorry Ada I can't today. I have to visit a friend today day at my academy."

"You made a friend?" Ada asked before Jack could tell Oz that he was _not_ going to school today even if he had to tie him to the refrigerator to keep him home.

"Almost. He's still trying out but I think I'll say yes."

"That's amazing! You're very first friend… When do I get to meet him?"

"Oh I don't-" Oz broke off his heart speeding up. Just a few feet away, attempting to drop off his brother who kept clinging to him was Gil.

"Oz?" Ada pulled on his sleeve, regaining his attention. A few other kids and adults were milling around to front of or trickling into the building so it was admittedly a bit strange that he's spotted Gil right away. "Is something wrong?"

"No, um. I guess you get to meet him sooner than I thought."

"Really!?" Ada scanned the small crowd of people, as if she could instinctively pick out her brother's almost-friend before she met him. "Where is he?" Oz turned to his brother.

"Do you mind?" Oz asked. Jack stared at his siblings for a few seconds before, damn their pouting faces, he gave in.

"Sure, whatever. I'm meeting him too though," the older twin responded. He wouldn't admit it but he wanted to know what made this Gil person so special to his brother. Ada followed behind them, barely able to hold in her anticipation.

"Gil!" Oz shouted, waving his arms to get the raven's attention.

Gilbert was trying his best to detach Vincent from his waist. After yesterday he hadn't wanted to see their mother and had insisted upon Gil taking him to school instead. The raven, of course, had agreed and now realized exactly how stupid that had been. Vincent didn't _want_ to go to class. He wanted to skip and apparently never come back.

"Nobody likes me!" Vincent exclaimed, holding securely onto his brother. Gilbert felt a pang for the boy. School couldn't be easy for him given how… special he was. In all his years of life he'd only manage to make one sort-of friend. Echo really only did what she was told but that could be considered friendship. Right? He patted his brother on the head and released a long sigh.

"I thought that didn't matter to you?" Gil said uncertainly. The only people whose rejection he'd thought mattered to Vincent was their parents'. The young blond frowned.

"I don't want to put up with it today." Gilbert wiped a hand down his face and shook his head.

"Why don't you find Echo? She likes you." Vincent's expression darkened and his grip around his brother's middle tightened. "Her mom and dad want me to stay away from her. Remember?" Gil mentally slapped himself. He'd completely forgotten about that.

"Listen I usually wouldn't encourage this with other people's parents but… what they don't know won't hurt them. Besides it isn't as if you're going to her house." It was then that he spotted the girl. Despite the others milling around Echo was hard to miss. Her white hair and the overly long sleeves of her outfit gave her away. She was walking toward the boys and when she reached them she wrapped her arms around Vincent from behind.

"Hello," Echo said. "You weren't here yesterday."

"See? She wants to spend time with you despite what her parents said," Gil murmured. Vincent didn't look very happy about it but released his brother anyway.

"I was hurt," Vincent said, detaching Echo's arms from him. He quickly placed his own around her waist and pulled her closer (too close in Gilbert's opinion). She allowed herself to be tugged and touched, as if she were a doll. It slightly disturbed the raven but if she didn't mind who was he to complain? His brother reluctantly walked off with Echo telling her, in detail, about how they would spend their day. Gilbert rubbed the back of his neck. Vincent was a very, er, commanding person.

"Gil!" He turned in the direction his name had been called and swore his heart skipped a few beats. Oz was standing just a few feet away, waving his arms around like a crazy person. Jack and a bouncing little girl ware at his side. Gil weakly waved back, blood rushing to his face as he remembered the note he'd given Oz yesterday. The blond grinned, running hand in hand with the girl toward him and Jack walked a few steps behind them. "Hey! What are the odds! Your brother goes to my sister's school!"

"Hi," Gilbert said, fidgeting under Jack's scrutinizing gaze.

"This is Ada, my sister, and you should know Jack."

"It's nice to meet you!" Ada exclaimed.

"Er… you too."

"I wanted to thank you for being friends with my brother. He's not close with many people." A thought crossed her mind and she giggled. "He doesn't tease you too much does he?" Gilbert recalled the _many_ times Oz had "flirted" with him as a way of teasing and felt his face instantaneously combust.

"N-no. Not too much."

_Just not enough,_ a voice in Gil's head whispered. His cheeks became a few shades darker and he banished the thought. No no no no no! He did _not_ want Oz that way! And it wasn't only because the blond was taken. Gil just… he couldn't…

While Gil was internally arguing with himself and Oz was going on and on about Ada to him Jack was lost in his own thoughts. As far as he could tell the raven wasn't anything special. Yet when he'd discussed Oz's different behavior with Alice they both came to the same conclusion. His brother was truly happy for the first time in his life and somehow it was Gil's doing. How exactly was a complete mystery though. At school Gil was quiet, almost like he was trying his best not to be noticed, and so far he'd only said about seven words total. In fact all he appeared to do was blush and… stammer… in Oz's presence. Jack's eyes narrowed on the raven. That almost made it seem like he- but no, he couldn't. Oz threw his arms around Gil's neck, pulling their faces closer together to regain his attention and the raven once again turned red.

_Actually,_ Jack thought_, I might not be far off. I think he has a crush on my brother._

Oz laughed and bonked their foreheads together, his smile not nearly as forced as usual (a detail only Jack and Alice ever noticed). It made his twin think of yesterday. Of Oz's wistfulness at the mention of Gil and he couldn't help but wonder.

A bell rang, signaling that there was fived minutes until class began. Ada let go of her brother, whom she had been hanging off of while they _both_ teased Gilbert. The poor boy was a stuttering mess. Ada bit down on her bottom lip and glanced toward the door of the school. She _really_ didn't want to go.

"Oz," Ada murmured so Gil couldn't hear, "you'll visit me later right?"

"Yeah, of course I will," Oz said. "I don't get to see you enough. You know I don't give up the chances when I get them." He ruffled her hair and she nodded despite thinking that that was _before_ he got a friend. Immediately after the thought had crossed her mind she blanched, feeling awful. She forced her expression to stay normal and ran into her school before it could change and betray her.

"Oz," Jack said, inserting himself between Gilbert and his brother, "how about I walk you home?" He glared at the raven knowing that if he was correct about what the boy felt for his twin

Alice would be devastated and… single… technically. He shook his head. No. He was not going to go there. If he could prevent her unhappiness he would. And if that meant keeping his brother from falling head over heels for another guy than so be it.

_But you could make her much happier than your brother will ever be able to,_ a small voice whispered. _Honestly, doesn't she seem miserable with him? Do you really think she wants to play mother to a pathetic little boy? Sacrificing everything she should be entitled to for him?_ And suddenly the thought of leaving them alone together wasn't that bad. After all Alice _was_ miserable. She was clearly sick and tired of being a caretaker. Maybe it was time she got over Oz. There was no guarantee that she would date Jack afterward but if her smiles could reach her eyes again, like Oz's did around this boy, than it was worth it anyway.

Oz shot Gil a look, his eyes practically screaming "save me!". The blond subtlety scooted closer to the raven, ready to make a run for it if he had to. He had planned to sneak out of the house after being taken back home anyway (not that Jack would have found out if he didn't sneak) but since Gilbert, the person he wanted to see, was here it'd be more convenient to grab him and go.

Then to Oz's utter surprise Jack said, "Actually, Gil can take you home right? I have to get to school early and taking you to the house would be out of my way."

"Sure! Course he can!" Oz exclaimed, throwing an arm around the raven and slightly digging his nails into the other boy's shoulder to quiet his protests.

"Y-yeah," Gil muttered, once again wondering about the people he chose to spend time with.

"Great," Jack said. To Gil, "I _can_ trust you to take him straight home right?"

"Uh…" Gilbert glanced at the blond holding onto him and, despite having absolutely no faith in his ability to do what Jack asked said a little weakly, "Sure." As soon as his brother was out of sight Oz turned his full attention to the raven. Gil fidgeted under his gaze, knowing beyond any doubt that something bad was going to happen. Oz's eyes were even 'glinting with mischief'. Gil had thought that only happened in stories!

"We're not going to your house are we," the raven said as soon as they set out.

"Nope!" Oz said cheerfully. "It's Friday you know."

"Yeah it is. Why?"

"Will you skip school with me? We can even stop by later to get your homework if you want." Gil glanced at his hand, clasped in a death grip in Oz's. Somehow he had a feeling that any answer but yes would be ignored.

"Why can't you just go in today?" Oz rolled his eyes.

"Jack has me under house arrest; as if he really could enforce it. He wants me to stay home and rest 'cause of this." The blond lightly touched the band aid on his cheek, drawing Gilbert's attention to it. Gil frowned. It looked like it was almost healed and Oz hadn't been resting before so why would Jack change his mind now? "Besides this works out better. You said you wanted to be friends and the only way for that to happen is for you to hang out with me." Gil sighed. In all seriousness he felt like the past four days had been filled with nothing _but_ Oz, whether he was actually there or taking over the raven's thoughts.

"I don't know…" Oz's smile dimed a bit and his grip and Gil's hand tightened.

"I'm sure you can spare a day. Come on. Go on a date with me." Gilbert's face flushed and he had to look away, grateful for the cool autumn air on his overheating skin.

"I guess… I can't say no."

"Yes!" Oz took off at a run, dragging Gil behind him and glad that he had at least twenty dollars (a whole years worth of savings) in his book bag. He was already deciding where he was going to take Gilbert for breakfast.

**Alice: First and foremost by the time the next chapter's up I'll be under my new name. I sincerely apologize if this messes with anybody, I know it's inconvenient! *feels extremely bad* Erm, so… review please? I'd appreciate it even if I don't deserve it for making you wait so long~!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Alice: First, I hope nobody had a hard time finding me due to the new name! If you did I'm sorry! Second, HOLY CRAP! 50 reviews! *jumps up and down with happiness* I want to thank everyone that's reviewed. It always makes my day~!**

**Now, more specifically. Sovay. Thanks for all of your compliments. Gil and Vincent aren't in a foster family but Ada was adopted. Eventually I will write what made Vincent the way he is. Alice does love Oz. And YES! I would be absolutely flattered if you'd make art to go with my story! Feel free! (Alright I think I answered all of your questions.)**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own **_**Pandora Hearts**_**.**

Oz swung his legs back and forth (as the booth seats left a good inch between his feet and the ground) and tried his best not to kick the raven sitting across from him. Gil looked uncomfortable, barely picking at the food set in front of him. Oz couldn't help but smile and laugh softly at the other boy. He wondered if the discomfort was because they were skipping school, he kept referring to this a date, or a little of both. Whatever the reason though Gilbert's blushing face was by far the cutest thing Oz had ever seen. Oh… it was? The blond stopped his kicking and stared down at his own food, continuing to tell Gil about his sister as if his thoughts hadn't slipped elsewhere. He drummed his fingers on the table and brought a forkful of pancake to his mouth (usually he skipped breakfast but this was nice).

_Do I mean it?_ Oz thought. _Do I really think he's cute?_ He studied the boy in front of him; chin length and pitch black hair, stunning golden eyes, a slight build although he was a bit taller than Oz, and a seemingly permanent blush dusted across his cheeks. Yes. Gilbert was definitely cute. Oz rolled the thought around in his mind a bit, getting used to it. Now. Did he think Alice was cute too? Oz's response was an immediate no. She was attractive, definitely, but cute? That wasn't the right word. Alice was… she was… beautiful. Others might say they're pretty much the same thing but Oz believed they were completely different. After all beauty was, in his opinion, untouchable. Alice might talk to him and be there for him when he needed it bit that didn't make her any less closed off. She refused to share herself (happiness, sadness, anger) with him due to her belief that it would be insensitive. She was _right there_, practically at his fingertips, but he could never truly reach her. Not in the way other, more _normal_ people could.

"Oz?" Gil asked, waving a hand in front of the blond's face and drawing him out of his thoughts. "Are you alright? You kind of zoned out." Oz brushed Gil's concern away.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine," he said, stuffing another forkful of pancake in his mouth. Gilbert had managed to finish his with out the blond noticing. Gil chewed on his bottom lip, unconvinced.

"I've been wondering, um, why was Jack worried about your wound? Shouldn't it be nearly healed by now?"

"More or less." Oz shrugged, self consciously bringing his fingertips to the bandage. Gilbert cocked an eyebrow. 'More or less'? What did he mean by that?

"Let me see." Oz avoided the raven's gaze and instead stared down at the table. He didn't want to lie about this to Gil and that fact shocked him. Nobody that didn't already know what Zai did to him was told. Others might have their suspicions, for example Oscar and Alice (although she did her best to overlook them), but Oz had never felt the urge to actually tell anyone. He was resigned to his fate.

At least he _had_ been until Gilbert came and shook up what he thought he was ready for and wanted. After that fight with his father Oz knew that his time was coming any day or week now because his life was worthless. He'd been prepared for that finishing blow, when a hospital wouldn't be enough to help, for years. But then Gil- Gil just had to go and make him feel… human in a way that Alice, Ada, and Jack hadn't been able to no matter how hard they'd tried. As if he wasn't a monster in disguise like Zai claimed. As if his life did, in fact, matter. How funny that a boy he'd known for only a few days could accomplish what his siblings had been attempting for ages.

"It- it's fine. Jack's being weird that's all," Oz muttered, continuing to pick at his breakfast although he had lost his appetite. Gilbert narrowed his eyes.

"Don't lie to me. You're the one who told me I'm not allowed to care about what happens to you unless we're friends and that isn't possible if you don't tell me the truth. Now," Gil swallowed hard and put his all into not hiding his face over the mortification he felt at speaking to Oz this way, "it doesn't matter if you don't tell me what happened. You could at least show me." Oz's lips stretched into a large grin. He wouldn't have thought Gil had it in him to be so commanding. It was a… pleasant surprise. Without bothering to think it through any further Oz peeled the bandage off of his cheek. The raven's eyes widened at the sight of a newly opened wound.

"Let me guess. Another accident?" Gil reached across the table and after a moment's hesitation lightly grabbed Oz's chin, tilting his head a bit to see the wound better. The restaurant was mostly empty save for an old man seated across the room and the employees lazing around the kitchen and host/hostess station. There was little to no chance of them being seen otherwise Oz wouldn't have allowed it. His eyes fluttered closed at the feel of Gil's cool, soft fingers barely touching his flesh. He didn't get skin on skin contact very often. It wasn't surprising considering how he was constantly pushing Jack away for fear of him getting hurt as well, Alice was embarrassed by it, Zai usually beat him with whatever was at hand, and Ada's visits were few and far between.

There was something else to it though. This touch, Gil's touch, was different. It was gentler; possibly more caring than the other's he'd received. It sent Oz's heart pounding. It made him feel weak but in a good, breathless way if that made any since. And most of all he didn't want it to end.

"You know me so well," Oz's voice came out breathier than he would have liked and for once it was his cheeks that were tinged a light pink. Gilbert, noticing this, flushed as well and drew his hand back.

"W-why don't you tell anybody?" Gil asked. Oz shrugged, biting back his usual response of how he deserved it. He had a feeling Gilbert wouldn't take to kindly to that answer.

"I've never needed to. I mean it's not like I've nearly died before. He's been too careful to hurt me that-" _Shit_. Why did he tell Gil that? He didn't mean to, it sort of slipped out accidentally. It would have been better to go on with the raven knowing the truth but not having it confirmed. Now that he knew for sure- Oz shot a glance at the other's face- sure enough there was _that look_. The look his brother and sister gave him when they thought he couldn't see: a terrible mix of horror and pity. Immediately Oz shut his mouth, feeling he'd said too much. After a long silence, "Erm. How about I go pay the bill and we get out of here?" Gil could do nothing but nod as he was in a state of slight shock. He was right then. Oz was being abused. Dear god, he felt like he was going to throw up. The blond stood, replacing the bandage and walked off to pay. Gilbert stared after him and held his stomach. Somehow he had a feeling that he'd screwed up.

Gil took a deep breath and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. Two steps forward and three steps back. Geez, it had been what? Four day since they had first spoken to each other? Dear lord why did it feel so much longer? Like it had been weeks or months at the very least. He dragged his hands down his face wishing he could uncomplicate… well…_ Oz_! Since the blond had come into his life, albeit it had been for only a short period of time, Gil didn't know what to do! The constant teasing had been driving him insane for reasons he _did not_ want to think about and despite really wanting to help Oz the blond refused to let him! It was down right infuriating; as bad as, if not worse than, with Vincent. Both tried their best to act like they were fine although Oz was much better at it. Speaking of which…

Oz returned with a smile plastered on his face. Gilbert noted with disappointment that this one was much less real than his earlier ones had been. They exited the restaurant and began to wander off aimlessly; not exactly the best idea but neither of them had a destination in mind. The silence between them stretched, the background noise of cars and rustling leaves doing nothing to ease it.

"…Maybe I should take you home. Like Jack wanted," Gilbert finally said, his soft voice cutting into the mind numbing quite. Oz's head shot up from where he had been watching his feet.

"If that's what you want why not," he snapped, his lips settling into a pout. Gil's eyebrows furrowed. What did he do this time!? Nothing! Absolutely _nothing_ wrong as far as he was concerned. He crossed his arms feeling a need to defend himself.

"Would you prefer we kept wandering? Because I for one don't think that's very safe. We could get lost or kidnapped or something!" Oz chewed on the inside of his cheek and studied the raven standing next to him. Was he honestly only concerned for their safety? He didn't want to get rid of the blond now that he knew what was happening to him? Oz briefly wondered if Alice would stay with him knowing the truth. He decided that while yes she would she also would act like she'd never heard a word of it, keeping things between them the same. Like she always did. Like she always would. Hum. Did he feel disappointed? Or was this discontent? Oz shook his head, pushing the feeling aside and refocusing on the argument-type-thing he was having with Gil.

"Alright! We can go to my house but only if you stay with me. It's boring being there all alone." Oz glanced at Gilbert out of the corner of his eye and felt his mood brighten considerably when the raven released a resigned sigh.

"I guess. I mean you did make me skip school and I can't go back to my house since my parents are there." Oz grinned (a real smile) and threw an arm around Gil's waist, steering him in the direction of his mansion-house. He felt undeniably excited for one of the first times in is life. He had never invited people over to his house before. Even Alice had come on the request of Jack which was when she and Oz had first met.

The walk didn't last long. Upon arriving at the immense building Oz called home Gilbert was embarrassed to admit that his mouth dropped open with an audible _pop_. _This_ was Oz's_ house_? He knew that the boy standing next to him was rich but- but this was more than he could've expected! It made Sharon's home look like a doll house. Oz laughed at the expression Gil was making and patted him on the back.

"Bigger than you thought?" Oz asked, his voice holding a teasing tone.

"A-a little, yeah," Gil said. "I-I think I could get lost in there!" The 'house' if it really could be called that consisted of three floors and spanned the width of four large homes and connected to it was a six car garage. The first floor consisted of a parlor, living room, kitchen, Oz and Jack's bedrooms, three bathrooms (not counting the ones connected to the bedrooms), and a dining room. The second floor had the master bedroom, guest rooms, and a few more bathrooms. The third floor held mostly (fairly empty) storage rooms and the occasional bedroom that would led out onto a balcony which overlooked the spacious backyard. Oz shuddered thinking of the backyard with its garden set up as a maze. He had gotten lost in it on many occasions and decided it would be best to keep Gil away from it. It wouldn't do to lose his first friend.

"Oh, you'll be fine. You know, if you don't do any exploring on your own." Oz grasped one of Gil's hands in his and led the wide-eyed boy in to the house, locking the door behind them. Turning back to his company he rubbed his hands together. "_So_! Where should we begin?"

**Alice: Not the best ending but I sense a sleepover! *hint, hint* ;) I meant to have this up in December but suddenly it was twelve (HAPPY NEW YEAR!) and I was exhausted so you're getting it today! Review please! …And I'm going off to start the next chapter.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Alice: Hello my dears. It's been a while, huh? Hehe. Sorry about that. I don't even have a good excuse for the wait. It was just homework and laziness and lack of motivation. By the way I realized that Oz's stitches probably healed unrealistically quickly and wanted to apologize for that too.**

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Pandora Hearts.**

Alice narrowed her eyes on Jack as soon as he entered the room. She had expected to see Oz before math class began but there was still no sign of him. With an aggravated grumble about "stupid boyfriends" she stood from her seat and stalked over to Jack's side.

"Where is he?" Alice asked, her tone making clear that an answer was going to be given. She already knew in the pit of her stomach, just _knew_ beyond any doubt, that he wasn't coming but a part of her hoped Oz was only late. Maybe he'd been held up by a teacher or had had to use the bathroom. It was unlikely but he'd said he would show up and the blond usually kept his promises. That is unless something happened and he couldn't. Or some_one_. Her thoughts turned bitterly towards Gilbert- the damn… _seaweed head_!- and how involved with Oz he'd been becoming. A dull ache which she immediately pushed away began in her chest. She reminded herself how much worse she could have it and that Oz's attention turning to other people wasn't nearly as horrible in comparison to whatever it was that _he_ was forced to deal with. Plus it wasn't anything new for him to seem distant when with her and by this point she should be used to it.

"You mean Oz?" Jack asked, choking slightly. Alice had grabbed onto the collar of his shirt without noticing and slowly tightened her grip with each passing second. His words brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly released him, her cheeks lightly flushing as she nodded to indicate that he was right. After all who else would she be talking about? "He had to stay home. The wound from his 'accident' reopened."

"He was fine when I left him yesterday…" Alice frowned. This was _wrong_ and she had a suspicion that it involved the things she didn't want to know. She glanced toward Jack, thinking back to before she'd met his brother. It seemed as though decades had passed when, in reality they'd known each other for about a year. In the beginning few months of the last school year in which Jack had been her sole companion (her cat and- No. No, _just_ the cat- being the only exception to that) things had been immensely different. She'd even had a small crush on the elder twin although by now that interest was dead and buried. All it'd taken was one look at Oz, one brief, fleeting glance as he'd peered out of his bedroom to see his brother's guest, and her heart- or maybe her soul?- had been captured.

It was his eyes, she had long since decided. Those eyes, so similar to Jack's yet so very different had undoubtedly been what had drawn her in. Jack's were filled with any emotions that he happened to feel for even the briefest of seconds along with something else that she had never been able to place. They constantly softened when they landed on her and since that afternoon there was always a flash of pain to go with it. Oz's on the other hand usually held nothing but a happiness that appeared real and she found herself nowadays wanting nothing more than to believe it. She knew beyond any doubt however that it was only on the surface, the occasions she decided to search deeper proving that. Below the façade was an utter loss of hope, more self hatred than a single person should possess, and loneliness. Too much loneliness, enough that she could drown in it. _That_ was what she'd seen on the day she had met Oz and it'd struck a chord within her. _That_ was what had made her fall in love.

Surrounded by people but forever alone. To this Alice could sympathize and for the longest time she'd thought all the two of them would need was each other: someone that understood the depths of how lonely they each felt. And if they were together they'd no longer be alone... right? (Wrong actually. Very, very wrong but she didn't realize this until it was too late.) And so with her naive logic in mind she'd asked him out. As she actually got to know him she saw that he was charming and sweet and funny and she found herself falling deeper for him. Alice wanted to be around him more and more often but between his mysterious accidents and lack of motivation to come to school their time together was rare and usually instigated by her.

Then there had been _that day_. That one terrible, awful, horrible day when Oz had offered to walk her home. He'd been quieter than normal and Jack had seemed anxious about leaving her with him. Alice had chalked it up to his usual stupid worries and, grasping Oz's hand in hers, took off with the younger boy. To her dismay when she'd bothered glanced back she could see Jack following them about a block away. She'd turned to Oz, ready to complain but the tears running down his cheeks had left her stunned. Since her house and family members were cold and reserved she had never had the task of comforting a person before. Not having any idea what to do she had awkwardly demanded to know what was wrong. To this day the words he'd whispered and the defeated tone they'd been said in haunted her:

_I'm a demon._

Three simple words but they had torn through her heart, leaving a gaping wound that she feared would never heal. Without pausing to think she'd taken him into her arms and rocked him back and forth and back and forth, whispering assurances and shooting glances back at Jack who was a few feet away and running towards them. At that moment she had been as worn out as Oz had sounded because obviously they both _still felt it_: that gnawing ever-present loneliness that was eating them from the inside out. She'd thought, really thought up until then, that they could be enough for each other. That they only needed a person who understood but honestly, being with Oz she felt more alone than ever.

Jack had taken his brother and apologized and Alice had stood there, in the middle of the sidewalk with her tear-stained shirt, releasing sobs of her own. Because she loved Oz. With every fiber of her being she _loved that boy_ but he couldn't ease her pain while his own was so much more terrible. How on Earth could she be expected to demand anything from his, demand attention or _healing_, when he had it worse? She didn't understand why he would think of himself in such a way and was so damn confused but there was no going back. No taking back what she already felt for him even if she wanted to... (Did she want to?)

Alice had stayed there on that sidewalk until the sun began to set. When she finally returned home, as composed as she could get, the greeting was as icy as always. No one waited, no one worried, no one cared. She could have stayed out all night if she'd wanted and her absence wouldn't have been noticed. Standing there in the empty foyer she began to laugh. At herself, her feelings, and most of all at the hopelessness of the situation. She was born alone for god's sake, her mother not wanting to look at her let alone touch her and her father an unknown criminal, why did she think she could die anything _but_ alone. Oz loved her, she could see it in the way he looked at her, but if she couldn't help him he couldn't help her. However to make him better she'd have to know his secrets and she didn't think she _wanted_ to. What she _wanted_ was to stay in the dark, feigning a happiness that maybe one day she could convince herself was real and that was exactly what she intended to do. After all Jack and Oz hadn't seemed to want to disclose any details. She would just go to school tomorrow and act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Everything would be back to normal and if she didn't think about it wouldn't hurt as much.

She did this for the rest of that school year and continued it into this semester. Then Oz had had to go and meet _Gilbert_. Her world as she knew it was imploding and she wanted it all to stop. She wanted Oz to _not_ leave her behind because she was beginning to experience emotions she didn't allow herself to have. Sadness felt odd after pushing it away for months and she had no idea what to do. Tears began to prick at her eyes but she squeezed her eyelids shut, took a deep breath, and brought herself back to the present.

"What happened to him?" Alice asked, crossing her arms and putting the previous thoughts behind her. Jack studied her for a moment before releasing a sigh. She didn't want to know the truth. She never wanted to know the truth yet she persisted to ask in spite of that. She should consider herself lucky to be able to ignore it. She didn't have to face why Oz hated himself, unlike Jack who was reminded of it daily. Unlike Ada who they wouldn't dare to tell yet was too perceptive not to have noticed. Alice didn't, she flat out refused to, and as long as he could keep her from having to bear that weight on her shoulders he would.

"Like I said the wound on his cheek reopened and I had him stay home. It was nothing special," Jack repeated smiling reassuringly at her. She nodded, disappointed but taking his words as the truth, and returned to her seat. He followed her to his own and throughout the entire class hour couldn't focus on the lesson. He could only stare at her; she didn't notice. Not once. She never noticed if it was him and not Oz. If there was one thing Jack regretted it was allowing her to meet his brother. Had he known she needed someone as badly as she did he would've gladly been there for her. It was too late for that now, yet he was still determined that if it was the last thing he did he'd make her happy, truly happy, for once in her life.

XXXXXX

Sharon sat at her desk in math class her suspicions officially confirmed. Gilbert was skipping. With a flourish she spun to her right to face Break. He was seated on his own desk, kicking at the air with Emily placed on his head.

"Gil wasn't in his other classes this morning," Sharon began. "Do you think he got sick?" Break surveyed the room and slid off of his desk to lean on Sharon's. His elbows rested on the wood and he threaded his fingers together, placing his chin on them. A devious smirk spread across his features.

"It isn't only our dear raven that's missing. Haven't you noticed?" Break asked, his tone piquing Sharon's interest.

"_Oh, I did! I knoooow~!_" Emily trilled. Sharon's gaze shot to the puppet. To her irritation despite it not actually being alive to show any type of emotion it was clearly gloating. Not about to be outdone by an inanimate object she scanned the chairs, her eyes lighting up when they landed on the only other empty one.

"You think he's with Oz." She was going to add more as her love for romance had flared up but Oscar chose that moment to burst into the room, apologizing for being late and beginning the lesson as he mentally took attendance.

Fifty minutes later when the class had ended and emptied out of everyone but Jack, Oscar approached the boy. A worried frown was etched onto the older man's face. It was always like this when Oz skipped, putting him in a near constant state of worry. He sincerely hoped his concern was unnecessary this time like it was most others.

"Jack," Oscar began, "is there any specific reason Oz couldn't make it today?" Jack gathered his things and shook his head.

"Not really. The scrape on his cheek was hurting him and I suggested he stay home," the elder twin replied. The lie slipped past his lips without the slightest second of hesitation. _Besides_, he reminded himself,_ it isn't as if that was completely untrue. It was more of an… understatement. A very big understatement._ "By the way I have a feeling that Gilbert's absence is his fault. We ran into him when we walked Ada to school and I asked him to take Oz home. My brother probably made him stay." Oscar raised an eyebrow at that.

"I thought you two weren't allowed to have visitors while Zai was aroun-," he paused. "That is unless your father left?" It wouldn't be the first time that nobody had bothered to tell him he had to watch the boys. Whenever Zai was home Oscar's presence was unnecessary so he usually ended up spending about a third of each year in his own house while the rest of the time was spent with Oz and Jack.

"Yeah, he left late yesterday. I would have told you but I guess it slipped my mind." There was also that trip to the doctor but Oscar would most likely never hear of it. The two of them said their goodbyes and left the classroom, Jack heading towards the cafeteria and Oscar to the teachers' lounge while muttering something about finally being able to get Oz caught up on the lessons he'd missed. The door shut behind them with a click and Break rolled out from underneath Oscar's desk.

He stood and with a mischievous glint in his eyes said to Emily, "What a naughty child, skipping school to spend the day with his crush. I believe it's about time we checked up on the little raven."

As soon as he'd told Sharon the news they were setting out out for Oz's house, figuring their lunch period would give them enough time to check in on the two and return with minutes to spare before the bell for their next class rang. When Sharon had realized that Gil had a thing for the blond she'd had Break find out where he lived in case she ever needed to beat sense into him with her fan. Making sure everything was going well was part of her motivation for spying along with the curiosity sparked by her inner romantic. Break's incentive was much less pure. He saw this as a golden opportunity to find new things to tease Gilbert about nothing more, nothing less.

They arrived at the mansion-sized house in about fifteen minutes and both immediately set about peering into first story windows. It wasn't until they reached the third one that wasn't covered by a curtain that they could see the boys. Sharon stood on her tiptoes trying to get a clearer view. The window looked in on what appeared to be a living room and she felt her cheeks grow warm at the sight of Gilbert and Oz.

"Oh my…" Sharon murmured, whipping out her fan to shockingly use it for its intended purpose. Break peered in after she'd turned away, his lips settling into a smirk.

"Emily," the albino began as he was dragged off in the direction of the school by a reluctant to leave Sharon who was very pleased with what she'd seen. "I believe I'm going to win that bet."

XXXXXX

When they entered the house Oz took their coats and backpacks and dropped them off in his room. He quickly returned to the entryway where he'd left Gilbert and attached himself to one of the boy's arms, giving him a tour of the first floor. Gil allowed himself to be pulled from room to room, fidgeting awkwardly the whole time. Oz cast him a glance out of the corner of his eyes after about twenty minutes of this and stopped in front of the entrance to the living room. The raven had been oddly quiet since he'd come inside and it was beginning to wear on the blond's good mood.

"Why are you nervous? Relax!" Oz exclaimed placing his hands on Gil's shoulders and squeezing tightly.

"I-I was just wondering… are you sure this is alright?" Gilbert asked. "I mean you didn't tell your da-"

"My dad's out of town. Probably state. Actually he could very well have left the country. And Oscar won't care if you spend the night. Besides you didn't tell _your_ parents when I slept over."

"T-that's different. They were at work and they're used to Sharon and Break randomly spending the night. A-a-and I who said I was going to sleep over?" Oz flashed him a grin and patted him on the head, releasing the death grip he had on the raven's shoulders.

"You act like I'm giving you a choice." Gil sighed. Right, of course. Why the hell would Oz give him a choice when he'd made up his mind? Gilbert ran a hand down his face and glanced in the direction of the kitchen. He could have sworn he'd seen a phone in there (he never saw a reason to take his to school) and if he was staying…

"In that case I'm going to need to call my parents." Oz beamed and led him back into the kitchen, handing him the cordless. He leaned against the counter spanning the right side of the room and watched Gil as he paced back and forth waiting for one of his parents to pick up.

"Hello?" the groggy voice of the raven's father answered. Gilbert cringed, knowing that he'd woken his dad and feeling terrible about it.

"Ah. Dad, it's me," Gil said. "I, um, I'm sort of stuck," here he shot a glare at Oz who was pulling his most innocent expression, "at a friend's house. I have to stay the night so could you leave Vincent a note saying that there are leftovers in the microwave and all he has to do is warm them up for a minute or two in the microwave?"

"Sure, hold on." There was a pause on the other end in which Gil heard a drawer opening and pages rustling. "Alright. Did something happen? You're not hurt are you?"

"No, no I'm fine. It's my friend Oz, I'm sure mom told you about him, that's kind of not. It's no big deal, I promise." His father surprisingly enough didn't ask anymore questions and they said goodbye. Gil hung up the phone feeling a little like his life raft had been popped. He'd kind of been hoping his father would ask why he wasn't at school or demand he come home. Then again the man was half asleep so he shouldn't have expected much.

"Did he say you could stay?" Oz asked linking arms with Gilbert.

"Yeah," Gil muttered. Under his breath he added, "Although I doubt you would have let me leave were he to say no." Oz grinned and ruffled the raven's hair, brushing aside what he hadn't wanted him to hear. There was no point in denying it. It was true.

A few hours went by with them doing next to nothing. They'd settled into the living room, turning the television on for background noise while they talked. They'd begun by discussing school; classes, teachers (specifically the history teacher, Mr. Barma, who seemed to have it out for Break and his assistant, Reim), and homework. Gilbert asked Oz about the Oscar situation but Oz didn't explain much, saying that he tutored him and would watch him and Jack when their father was away which Gil had been able to figure out for himself. Oz asked about Gil's parents wondering what it felt like to live with ones that actually cared rather than hating you.

"Well they feel guilty about not being able to spend much time with Vincent and me due to their work. They try to make it up to us whenever they can and usually are, erm, affectionate…" Gilbert pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He was sitting cross-legged on a couch, Oz splayed out beside him. The blond was upside down, the ends of his hair brushing the carpet and his legs hooked on the back of the chair where his head should have been. Despite his awkward position he was staring up at the raven intently, absorbing his every word. "Sometimes though Vince… ah," he cleared his throat, "he doesn't mean to but he scares them. They try their best to act normal but the things he says really gets to them." There was a pause. Oz wiggled himself upright, twisting himself around so he was sitting correctly in the seat, and threw an arm around Gilbert's waist.

"At least they try. That must be nice." Whether he deserved it or not it would be amazing to have a parent that attempted to accept him in spite of his many flaws and what he'd done. Oh… Shit! There he went spitting out things he hadn't meant to say again! Gilbert tensed beside him, his eyes growing wide.

"I-I-I-I-I wasn't thinking! I wouldn't have said that if I had-" Oz clamped a hand over Gil's mouth, silencing him. He stood and began pacing, running a hand through his hair. He wasn't going to look. If he looked he wouldn't like what he's see. He wasn't going to look, he wasn't going to look, he wasn't going to- Oh who the hell was he kidding? Oz couldn't resist and regardless of his reluctance his gaze found its way to Gil. _That_ expression (the one from the restaurant) was back and firmly in place. Gil was staring at him in _that_ way. He hated it. It was wrong.

"Don't. Just _don't_." Gilbert tilted his head to the side, confusion mixing with the other emotions dancing through his golden orbs.

"What do you-" He stood, reaching out to touch Oz but seemed to decide against it as the blond appeared fairly pissed and instead dropped his half-raised arm back to his side.

"Don't pity me. I don't need or want it." Oz eyed the hand Gil had retracted. This wasn't what he'd wanted. Not at all. The day had finally been going so well and then he'd had to go and open his mouth and make a stupid comment like that. He'd sounded so sad and wistful. It was disgusting.

"I'm not-why would you think I-"

"And now you're lying!" Oz couldn't stop the giggles from bubbling up in his chest. Before he knew what had happened he was bent over, clutching his sides unable to stay upright because he was laughing so hard. "After all how could you not!? I meant look at me! 'Oz the boy who was born to be despised all because he killed his mother as a baby! A demon in human skin!' The only kindness I've know has been little and hidden because anyone who knows rightly fears the person that hurts me." There wasn't much point in hiding who did it now but that didn't mean he was just going to come out and say it. "And besides few others than Ada and Jack are odd enough to actually care about me!" Oz took a deep breath, calming himself a bit before continuing. "Do you know- do you have any idea- why I don't want your pity of anyone else's?" Gil opened his mouth to interrupt but Oz put a finger to the raven's lips, silencing him before he could begin. "It's because _I deserve what I get_." Suddenly Oz had no idea why he'd even attempted to defend himself after his date with Alice. If it was for her talking back made since as well as for Jack, Ada, Oscar, and Gil if it ever came to that. But _he_ was nothing: not human, undeserving of compassion, unnecessary. It all made since again. It all… made since.

"Y-you can't… really… believe that," Gil murmured. Oz gazed at a tear blurred Gilbert unsure of when exactly he had begun to cry or why for that matter. He'd only said the truth. His chest felt oddly hollow as he dropped to his knees, wrapping his arms around Gil's waist. This wasn't like him. This was nothing like him. What was he doing? Why couldn't he stop?

"Beat it out of me. _Make_ me stop," Oz mumbled, nuzzling his face into Gil's stomach. Ah, his shirt was so soft. Or maybe that was just the boy. Oz inhaled deeply, releasing the breath after a moment. This was nice. "Please." And yet it was so cruel. The blond tightened his grip. "I don't deserve any of this: you, feeling happy, thinking I could possibly have a right to life." Gil was stuttering, stumbling over his protests but Oz ignored him and continued, "I can't have any of those. I know I can't and never will. Gilbert please. Hit me. Beat me. Make me see reason again. Make me remember how worthless I am. I'm begging you." Gil stared down at Oz dumbfounded. He actually wanted to feel such horrible things? No. Gil shook his head. No, of course not. But how often must he have been told that if he believed it was true? The raven sighed softly and ran his fingers through Oz's hair.

"I'm not going to do that. And if you honestly think you want me to you're lying to yourself." Oz looked up at him, tears still streaming out of his eyes. He closed them, letting the words sink in and collapsed against Gilbert resting his head against the other boy's abdomen. Gil cleared his throat, fighting against the blush rising to his cheeks. Now was _not_ the time! "Y-you did nothing wrong. You were born, that's all and s-sometimes people die giving birth. It happens and there's nothing that can be done about it." Oz's tears subsided and a small, sad smile graced his features. The lower half of Gilbert's shirt was thoroughly soaked through but neither seemed to care. Oz pressed a soft kiss to a section of skin above the waistband of Gilbert's jeans where his shirt had ridden up a bit. Gil's mouth dropped open. His hands began to tremble but Oz left his warm lips against the raven's tear cooled skin even after the kiss had ended.

"You are very kind Gil," the blond mumbled against the blushing boy's stomach. He could feel Gilbert's temperature rise and furrowed his eyebrows. He reluctantly pulled away, leaving his hands resting on the other's hips. "Are you alright? You're not coming down with a fever are you?" Gil shook his head mutely, once again too shocked by Oz's actions to speak. His mind rushed to rationalize what had happened.

'_He-he didn't mean it_ that_ way!,' _his thoughts screamed._ 'Oz wasn't thinking! It was only to say thank you- Damn it no! That actually makes it sound worse! He… he… um'_ The blood began to drain from his face but to Gil's horror the sight of Oz. In front of him. Still on his knees with his hands resting on the raven's hips! Sent it south to a place he really preferred it did _not_ go.

"I-I-I-I-I-I have to use the bathroom!" Gil exclaimed, jerking himself out of Oz's loose grip and practically falling on the ground face first in his rush to escape. After as moment Oz heard the closest bathroom's door slam shut. He rubbed the back of his neck and rose to his feet. Did he do something wrong? He's only wanted to show his appreciation. Jack and Ada may always tell him that he's not worthless but they were his siblings and had know him their whole lives, they were bound to be at least a little attached. His breaking down like that was rare but it felt _incredible_ to have a person that knew him just enough for him to consider them friends tell him that his mother's death wasn't his fault and hold him. Of course the holding had been more on his part but Gil hadn't objected or pushed him away. Until the kiss that is… maybe that had been going too far?

**Alice: Dear lord this is a long chapter. I apologize for any awkward writing. The middle was really hard to get but I tried my best. Please forgive me for the wait and review? Please? **


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